The first sign was small.
Too small for scientists.
Too quiet for alarms.
But he noticed.
Eli was washing his hands when the water stopped falling.
Not dripping.
Not slowing.
Stopped.
Each drop hung in the air like glass beads, frozen between sink and skin.
He stared at them.
"…What?"
No sound.
No wind.
No hum of electricity.
The world had paused.
Except him.
His heart pounded louder than thunder in the silence. He waved his hand slowly through the air, and the droplets parted like he was moving through invisible jelly.
Then the sky blinked.
Outside the window, daylight flickered to night — stars flashed — then back to day. Like someone flipped reality off and on.
Time restarted.
The water crashed into the sink.
Noise returned all at once — traffic, birds, a distant shout.
Eli stumbled back, breathing hard.
"Okay… okay… I'm still dreaming."
But he wasn't.
That night, it happened again.
This time he was ready.
The moment the world froze, he stepped outside.
The moon hung low. Clouds were motionless. A plane sat in the sky, frozen mid-flight.
He looked up — really looked — and something inside him reached.
The sky rippled.
Stars bent slightly toward him, like iron dust to a magnet.
Eli dropped to his knees.
"Stop… stop…"
But it didn't stop.
Something vast moved behind the universe.
Something aware.
And for the first time since the beginning of existence…
It felt fear.
Somewhere Beyond Reality
A voice older than time whispered through the cosmic fabric:
"An anomaly has awakened."
Galaxies dimmed.
Laws adjusted.
Constants trembled.
"Growth rate: accelerating."
"Containment probability: decreasing."
Then the whisper became something close to panic.
"If he continues… he will exceed dimensional limits."
Back on Earth
Eli looked at his hands.
The air around them shimmered faintly, like heat above fire.
"I just want a normal life…"
A shooting star crossed the sky.
No.
Not a star.
A probe.
Watching him.