He returns home, but comfort is a stranger. What awaits isn’t warmth—it’s the echo of a mind unraveling.

  After spending half the day losing his mind in the bathroom, he dragged his feet to the bed and spent the rest thinking about their voices—Alicia and Vlad. How much he missed them. He wanted to see them, even if just in a dream. As tears dried on his cheeks, exhaustion finally took him.

  Blurred vision and dulled senses—Mec struggled to find answers in this foggy scene. He slowly opened his eyes; it felt like lifting weights. A thick air pressed against his body, in a place where time had died and every sound had vanished.

  "Did I fall asleep after getting back… or did I die after hitting my head so hard on the bathroom door? Is this hell?" he asked himself. "Looks like a peaceful place, honestly."

  Despite the abandoned city’s unwelcome aura, Mec walked quickly, as if searching for something he’d left behind long ago. Then, a strange sight in the distance made his steps quicken.

  He found himself face to face with a bizarre entity. Instinctively, he turned his face away, frowning—yet he stood frozen, unable to move an inch.

  "As much as I want to scream and run," he thought, "I can’t help but stay here."

  He forced himself to look again. It was a humanoid figure, roughly his height—but what made it gut-wrenching was its composition: threads. It stood motionless. Where a face should have been, there was only a blank tangle of fibers, and where eyes belonged, hollow voids stared back.

  A wave of nausea crashed over Mec as he realized the horrifying truth: there weren’t just one or two of these things—there were thousands, stretching as far as the eye could see.

  Mec bolted upright, chest heaving, shirt drenched in cold sweat. The silence of the room swallowed him.

  "A dream," he whispered. But as his eyes darted to the clock—3:00 AM again—a chill ran down his spine.

  No, not just a dream. Something had followed him back.

  Or was it?

  He couldn’t tell what was real anymore. Doubt crept in. Am I in my world?

  He grabbed the clock beside his bed. Its glow read: 3:00 AM.

  “F***ing 3 AM, huh,” he muttered, throwing off his blanket and rushing to the bathroom.

  He looked at the mirror—it was his face. Mec, not Maykola...

  Blue tiles. Not beige, creamy ones.

  “No flickering light. You sick of me?” he snapped, staring at the ceiling. “Why won’t you take me back there?”

  He shouted into the silence of his bathroom. “Lunatic—yeah, I’m a lunatic, talking to this bathroom until it talks back!”

  With a growl, he flipped the light switch harshly.

  ---

  After hours of flipping the light switch, Mec collapsed to the floor, letting the sunbeams try to hug his body. But right now, the only hug he needed was Alicia’s.

  Boom.

  The light bulb exploded.

  That was it. Mec let out a guttural laugh that quickly dissolved into a string of sharp barks—half laughter, half sobs. His fists beat the cold tile. His eyes, wide and wild, scanned the silent bathroom like it might whisper back.. He was spiraling, tumbling headfirst into insanity. But just as his manic episode reached its peak, it was interrupted by a knock.

  Mec ignored it. He was focused on losing his mind, thank you very much.

  But the knocking continued—for thirty relentless minutes.

  Eventually, curiosity (or irritation) won out. He decided to see who, after all these years of being no one, was actually knocking on his door. Since he’d moved into this apartment, no one had ever visited. He had no friends, no family, not even a pet.

  He opened the door.

  Standing there was a young gentleman in an exquisite suit. He wore glasses that suited his composed, collected look. In his hand, he held a book—clearly halfway read. His blonde hair was perfectly styled, and his blue eyes studied Mec intently.

  They scanned him: an oversized, stained shirt, shorts revealing hairy legs, an unshaved face, and messy hair. Mec looked like a walking bush.

  Yet the stranger didn’t judge him. Instead, he smiled, shook his hand, and said cheerfully, “Good morning, neighbor! I’m Joseph. Your neighbor. I mean, obviously, since I just said that… hi. Uh… I get nervous sometimes. I live next door. And… uh…”

  Joseph’s nervous ramble was interrupted when he realized Mec was shaking his hand in an odd, twitchy way—laughing a strange, robotic laugh.

  “Wonderful!” Mec said, voice sharp with sarcasm. “I thought I lived alone in this lovely neighborhood. So glad to have neighbors. Hahaha.”

  Joseph, oblivious to the sarcasm, smiled warmly. “You know, if you ever want to grab a drink or just relieve some stress, you can knock on my door anytime. Like I said, just two steps away. I heard you screaming, sir… You didn’t tell me your name. I told you mine. So… is everything okay?”

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  Mec, despite being socially unhinged, couldn’t help but think he was still doing better than Joseph. He hadn’t had a real conversation with another human being in ages. His last best friend was, quite literally, a lizard.

  He let out a laugh and said, “Sorry to disturb you. I… sometimes scream when I lose a game.”

  The playfulness vanished from Joseph’s eyes. His demeanor shifted as he gently placed the book into Mec’s hands and said in a low, solemn voice:

  "When the world is loud and the noise inside louder still, find the hush between the lines of a book. That’s where silence speaks—and peace begins."

  Joseph didn’t wait for a response. He placed the book gently in Mec’s hands and walked away without another word—his steps silent, almost too silent.

  Mec sighed, relieved to be rid of his annoyingly polite neighbor. But then he glanced down at the book in his hands.

  The Biology of Lizards.

  My eyes twitched as they landed on the title—They Are Vlad Species. I thought about him and faced the reality: I'm not only missing the girl who was supposed to be my girlfriend, but I also miss my reptilian best friend. My brother...

  Connection, belonging, love.

  I had only ever seen the meaning of these words in movies or books—never truly understood what made them special. Not until that moment when the bathroom light flickered.

  Blue tiles.

  3 a.m.

  And somehow, some conditions were met.

  I should examine this situation more closely—those dreams or fragments of memories that don’t belong to me.

  The voice that echoed in my head.

  The hour.

  The bathroom lights.

  Nothing is a coincidence—it’s all the result of accumulated actions.

  That’s why I have to recreate those conditions, no matter what.

  So I can see them again.

  ---

  With robotic movements, I dragged my feet out of my apartment. Everything was blurry, worse than ever. I couldn’t even tell what the weather was like, or who was in my way. I bumped into people multiple times on my way to the convenience store where I work.

  Once inside, I automatically reached for my badge and apron, sat in my usual chair, and scanned the products. “Here’s your check,” I said, handing over the coins. I didn’t even know who was there and who wasn’t. Everything felt mechanical.Every movement felt programmed—scan, smile, hand over change. I wondered if AI felt this empty too.

  The manager came by twice and yelled at me. “Why aren’t you smiling? A cashier's job depends on their face! You didn’t even shave your beard, no matter how many times I’ve told you to. You’re hiding your potential under that hair!”

  I felt bad for the manager. Why did she even give me this job? I always think—if she put a pretty man or girl here, maybe she’d have more customers.

  I kept myself busy with these thoughts, trying to fill the emptiness left by that world I wasn’t even sure was real. Maybe it was just a dream. It felt vivid, though. But when I got back, it was 6:00 a.m. I found my body lying in the bathroom. Three hours had passed. Did I faint and imagine everything? I had spent three days in the lizard world with Alicia and vlad. I faced death many times, and yet I still couldn't find an answer.

  I was drowning in my thoughts again when a loud crash snapped me back to reality—the new worker had dropped all the soup cans. Someone had to clean that up. The manager was already on her way over. Without thinking, I grabbed the broom and walked toward the mess. Before the manager could yell at him, I stepped in.

  “I’ve got a lot of free time,” I said. “I’ll clean it up. Let this pretty boy work the cashier. He’ll bring in more customers, obviously.”

  Maybe if I just buried myself in this mess, surrounded by dirt, I would feel less empty than being around all these people.

  The new worker looked like he was about to jump from happiness. He hid behind me even though he was taller. The manager kept yelling at him, then switched our jobs, making me responsible for his mess.

  He grabbed my shoulders and thanked me with wide, excited eyes. “I thought you were mad at me since you ignored me all morning. I didn’t know my neighbor was such an angel. You’re my savior!”

  I looked up at him. It was Joseph—the weird blonde guy who claimed to be my neighbor. And now he was working at the same convenience store. I thought I’d gotten rid of him. I couldn’t offer anything but a fake smile as I went back to cleaning, while he happily took over the register.

  Later, as I walked past him, I witnessed a weird scene—a girl trying to flirt with him. Nothing strange about that; he’s a hot guy. But Joseph? He was fumbling. His hands trembled, and he looked like he couldn’t breathe. He glanced at me, silently asking for help. Guess I’m saving his ass again.

  I walked over, not even sure what I was doing, just feeling bad for him. “Joseph,” I said, “let’s organize the soup section together since you’re responsible for the mess. I’ve already finished cleaning, so don’t think you can escape.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and left. She didn’t even buy anything. If you’re not going to buy something, why even come into a convenience store?

  After all the drama, the evening passed peacefully. My shift was ending, and I saw Joseph removing his apron. He followed me outside, looking like he wanted to say something. I acted like I didn’t notice. I didn’t want him getting stuck to me.

  He grabbed my shoulders again. “We’re going drinking. It’s on me. You don’t even get a choice—you saved me twice today.”

  He dragged me away without waiting for my answer. I was too tired to resist, so I let him kidnap me.

  Joseph dragged me to a dim-lit bar smelling of smoke and something sweetly rotten, he ordered two glasses of whiskey I hadn’t drunk in a long time. I grabbed my glass and swallowed it all at once.“You’ve paid me for saving you. Now I’m going home. I’ve got stuff to do.”

  But he ignored me, frowned, and ordered another drink. He started talking about how grateful he was to meet someone nice like me. He said even if our neighborhood looked cheap, it was full of good people.

  I didn’t know that. I never talked to anyone from our neighborhood.

  The second whiskey came. I looked at it—beautiful color. I felt a little drunk already. I took a sip, and then Joseph hit me with a question:

  “So I’m gonna ask you a cliché question. Do you have a girlfriend? Are you dating someone? Seeing someone?”

  Why does everyone assume I’m a virgin? Is it written on my forehead?

  But then I thought of Alicia.

  She held me, kissed me, hugged me, let me cry in her arms. I’m not some useless virgin anymore. Maybe I am a virgin, but I finally felt a woman’s touch—even if it was only in my imagination.

  I gave a creepy smile and yelled loud enough for the whole bar to hear:

  “I slept between her boobs and cried like a baby!”

  I was about to go on about my sweet Alicia, but my vision went blank. I think I can’t hold my liquor.

  ---

  I woke up with a throbbing head, the taste of whiskey still lingering in my mouth. For a moment, I couldn’t remember how I got home—probably Joseph brought me back. I was in my bed. I glanced at the clock. It was 3:00 a.m. A chill ran down my spine as my eyes widened, frozen in a sudden realization.

  Nothing is a coincidence—waking up at this exact time.

  I turned my head toward the bathroom.

  The door was open, and the light was flickering.....