The Day That Wouldn’t End

At exactly 11:59 p.m., time stopped; the world froze mid‑motion while I remained

awake, wandering a silent city suspended like a photograph until I reached the clock

tower where a second hand trembled violently as if resisting something, and when I touched

it, the world resumed—but every stranger who looked at me afterward had the same question

in their eyes: "why did you restart it?"