There was a small, beautiful town in the city of Elmhurst called Sapphire. Every morning began with the sound of birds, a glowing sun, and heartwarming nature. The town had small houses, and the people lived healthy, peaceful lives. There was a farm full of animals, and the townspeople cared for them as if they were their own children. A beautiful river ran through the town, surrounded by colorful flowers and tall, green trees.
Waseem, a 17-year-old boy, lived there with his family his father, mother, younger sister Anaya 14 years, and his cousin Ayaan, also 17. Ayaan, the son of Waseem's aunt, had come to stay with them during the vacation. He and Waseem were very close.
One rainy afternoon, raindrops tapped softly on the windows. The clock ticked and then suddenly, everything stopped at exactly 3:00 PM. The TV froze on the same channel, and the digital screens showed the same time. Waseem’s mother cooked the same dish every evening at the exact same moment, humming the same tune. When the clock struck 3:00, everything in the town became stuck , every action, every movement, every sound repeated.
At first, Waseem thought it was just an illusion or a dream. But as the days passed, he began to notice the strange pattern. The same girl walked past their window at the same time. The same bell began to ring but never finished. His father chopped the same vegetables. His sister always put on the same face mask.
No one noticed anything strange. No one looked confused. It felt as if everyone was trapped in a dream everyone except Waseem and Ayaan.
The idea came into Waseem’s mind that they should test if it was just an illusion and reality to test their intuitions. Waseem broke a plate and it shattered, but the next day it was back on the shelf as if it had never been touched. Ayaan drew some paintings on the wall, but they disappeared when the time got stuck at 3:00. They shouted at people and tried to stop them, but nothing happened. They started to repeat the same things as usual.
They began to look for clues about this mysterious event. Suddenly, they heard a loud ticking sound. They followed the sound and found a place they had never noticed before a path hidden in the trees that opened into a garden where time still continued. The flowers moved with the wind, the sun shifted, and birds were flying. There, they found a box. When Ayaan tried to open the box, it was locked. They started to look for the key, but when they couldn't find it, they broke the lock and found a rusted clock that ticked loudly and didn’t freeze.
They found a note with the clock and read it. It said, “If you can hear this tick, then congratulations you are not lost yet.” At that place, they realized there was a mystery behind this place: time was stopped at sapphire, but things were still moving in that garden as usual.
Time may have stopped in the town... but your next chapter is ticking closer. Stay tuned.
