Stand behind yer sheriff Circulation: 196,876,363 Issue: 911 | 14th day of Hiding, Y22
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Forever And A Day


by iamnotaaron

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The alarm clock goes off, its rhythmic blaring knocking Zach awake, but he doesn’t look at the clock because he already knows the time: 2:09 PM.

     For Zach, he’s relived the same day for the past 11 days. Each day is the same: he wakes up at the same time, gets dressed in the same white shirt, begins his workday with a routine inspection.

     Then, the coffee spill happens, the kid rides a bicycle into his leg, the old lady loses grip of her groceries because he bumps into her, and the Mynci at the coffee shop miscounts his change.

     It’s not like Zach hasn’t tried to break the cycle. On Day 4, he’d intentionally pick a navy-blue shirt instead of his usual white shirt. However, as soon as he stepped out of the house, the shirt magically became white.

     This also happened with the coffee. No matter how quick he is at dodging the falling mug, he’d wind up with the same spill. Once, he even asked Stacy to stop serving him coffee, and yet, a coffee mug would magically reappear on his desk.

     Some days, he would avoid the park entirely, but there would always be something that drew him back there. Once, his hat blew off towards the park. Another time, as he walked in the opposite direction of the park, he magically wound up on the park’s pathway just in time for the Jubjub to ride a bicycle into his leg.

     On and on, these repetitions would always find ways to work themselves back into his day. It was the same with the elderly Acara and the Mynci at the coffee shop – Zach would brush past her no matter how carefully he walked, and the Mynci at the coffee shop would always return him the wrong change. There was just no way of escaping this tiresome loop!

     Today, Zach felt particularly defeated. He was a powerful Bruce in charge of a large business, yet he had no power in controlling his day. He just wanted to get to the weekend so he could indulge in endless naps and a bottomless bowl of shrimp spaghetti, but life had other plans – Zach was doomed to repeat his day of mishaps on an endless cycle that had no clear way of escape.

     As he made his way into his office, he braced himself for the stinging hot coffee that he would have to endure being spilt on his shirt. He even knew the exact second it would happen. Over the last few days, he’s mastered counting down the seconds to when the spillage happened. It was almost as if he engaged in a contest with time, for which he was determined to win.

     As Stacy handed him his documents, he began counting down for the coffee to spill.

     “3...2...1...” and off the coffee went, as the mug tipped over Zach’s table. The same spill pattern now began spreading over his white shirt.

     Stacy looks on, as the colour drains from her face. There it is, a once-pristine white shirt, now coloured dull brown with steaming hot coffee. She’s trying to muster up the courage to apologise, but Zach’s temper has always frightened her. Exhausted, Zach just looks at Stacy, and sighs.

     “It’s okay Stacy,” he calmly tells her. “These things have a way of happening anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

     A look of surprise takes over Stacy’s expression. She’s never known Zach to let a mistake go without a scolding. In fact, she was convinced he enjoyed dishing out the scolding because they were often so fear-inducing that you wouldn’t want to even witness it. Still, Stacy knew that she was not going to stick around longer for him to change his mind. Apologising profusely, she retreats out of his office and sinks back into her seat.

     Before stepping out of the office, Zach looks at Stacy once more as he passes her table. The timid Aisha wears an expression of guilt, having seen the coffee-stained shirt standing right in front of her. Sensing her unease, Zach assures her that he’s not angry.

     “Accidents happen, we just have to pick ourselves off the floor and get on with it,” he says. A flash of relief dawns on Stacy’s face, as she musters up a grateful smile.

     The rest of the day happens in promised fashion: the Jubjub on her bicycle heading straight for his leg, the elderly Acara and her fruits rolling across the street, the Mynci at the coffee shop and his change.

     -----

     Day 13 of the same day, and Zach snaps awake. It’s 2:09 PM in the afternoon, the same as the day before.

     He continues his routine, and minutes before the dreadful spill is about to happen, Zach is slumped in his chair. Stacy comes to him with his coffee mug and some papers. As he reaches for the papers, Zach takes a deep breath, anticipating the spill.

     It doesn’t happen.

     Zach’s not sure what is happening. He lifts the coffee mug off the desk to check if it’s glued down. He goes underneath the table to look for magnets. He knocks the mahogany desk to ensure he’s not being tricked. Meanwhile, Stacy stands watching on in confusion.

     “Er, sir?” she finally asks, as she continues to watch as Zach climbs around the table looking for something. “Is everything okay?”

     Zach is thoroughly elated. Finally, he broke the loop that he had been stuck in!

     “Everything is perfect Stacy! Just perfect!” he exclaims, barely containing his excitement as he proudly runs his hands over his still-white shirt. “In fact, take the day the off! Tell everyone to take the day off! It’s a beautiful day outside, go and enjoy it!”

     Though unsure of what to make of Zach’s sudden change in behaviour, Stacy and her co-workers bounded out the building at lightning speeds to enjoy the sunny weather. As he watches the factory floor clear, Zach decides to leave as well. On his way out, he swipes a few candy packets from an open box. Today was a day to celebrate, and he deserved these sugary treats.

     As he walks around the lake, Zach basks in arrogance at his ability to extract himself out of his looping nightmare. He takes it as a confirmation that he was indeed a great Bruce, and this nightmarish episode would make a great party story someday.

     Right then, a sharp pain sears up his leg, and his heart falls into his stomach. He knows this pain – it’s an all too familiar feeling. As he turns, the same Jubjub gazes up at Zach, afraid that this big Bruce was about to scold her.

     He is just going to berate at her, when Zach catches himself. “What’s the point,” he ponders. “She can’t control herself. This is the loop working against me.”

     Letting out a deep sigh, Zach realises that he is still stuck in his on-going day. He peers over his glasses at the Jubjub, who looks back at him. Without a word, Zach begins shuffling through his jacket pockets for some candy.

     “Are you hurt?” he asks her, as he unwraps pack of gummies.

     “No sir, and I’m sorry about your leg,” the little Jubjub replies in earnestness.

     “That’s okay,” Zach replies, as he offers her the packet of gummies. “The pain won’t last. What’s important is that you learn from your mistakes, so they don’t happen again okay?”

     Obediently, the Jubjub nods, although she still looks unsure of how to act. Trying to assure her, Zach hands her the candy pack.

     “Here, it’s yours. You can have it.”

     The little Jubjub’s eyes sparkle with joy as she excitedly takes the gummies from Zach. She thanks him and apologises once more, before riding off.

     As she rides into the distance, Zach feels an unfamiliar feeling. He feels good that he didn’t lose his temper, and that he managed to make her smile.

     However, the joy is soon replaced by the sinking feeling that reminded him of his looping day. He knew that the next thing would be the elderly Acara, and then the Mynci at the coffee shop.

     -----

     That night, as Zach laid in bed staring at the ceiling, his mind began to retrace the day and his incident at the park. In that moment, an idea blinked into his head.

     These four incidences were moments where he was unkind. What if the way to break the cycle was to show kindness instead? After all, he spoke kindly to Stacy, and the coffee didn’t spill the next day. Nerves tingle all over as he gleefully holds on to this idea.

     The next morning, Zach bounces out the door, excited to test his theory. He goes into the office, and gives Stacy a warm greeting before reaching his desk. That noon, there was no coffee spill either, just like the day before. Zach felt his hopes increasing.

     Then, he heads to the park, all the while hoping that the Jubjub would not show up. As the seconds ticked on by, and the moment when the bicycle was supposed to knock into his leg soon passes, Zach is ecstatic.

     In the middle of the park, he lets out a great “yippee!” and jumps up, clicking his heels with laughter. His theory works! A kind deed stops his day from replaying itself up until that moment. Coming back down from his high, he knows what’s next: the elderly Acara crossing the road.

     Zach scoots over to the street corner, tripping on his own feet out of sheer excitement and anticipation. In his mind, he recognises the Acara with the grocery bag.

     “She has a blue shawl on, and she wears a bracelet on her right hand,” he reminds himself over and over again, as if afraid that he might forget how she looked like.

     When he finally gets to the crosswalk, he glances around excitedly, but is soon flooded with anxiety. The elderly Acara was nowhere in sight.

To be continued…

 
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