The man slowly stepped closer to her.
Every instinct inside Elise screamed at her to run.
But another part of her mind told her to fight back.
To survive.
And somewhere deep inside her heart, she suddenly thought about Enzo.
Maybe…
he really was protecting her.
Maybe he knew something she didn’t.
The man suddenly pulled out a small knife from his pocket.
The sharp blade reflected under the sunlight.
“If you try to escape,” he said coldly, “I’ll kill you… and the people trying to protect you.”
Elise’s eyes hardened instantly.
“You can’t even hurt them while I’m here,” she said firmly.
“I’m here to protect them.”
The man suddenly laughed mockingly.
“You? Protect them?”
“Yes,” Elise replied without fear.
“I will.”
The smile on the man’s face disappeared completely.
“First… protect yourself.”
Suddenly, he lunged at her with the knife.
But before he could touch her, Elise quickly grabbed his arm, twisted it painfully behind his back, and kicked his leg hard.
The man lost balance instantly and crashed onto the ground with a painful groan.
The knife slipped from his hand and slid across the street.
People nearby gasped in shock and immediately stepped away from them.
Elise’s chest rose heavily as adrenaline rushed through her body.
Her years of experience as a journalist-dealing with criminals, chasing dangerous cases, and facing psychopaths-had finally paid off in the most ironic way possible.
All those years spent observing people, learning survival instincts, and understanding how dangerous minds worked…
were now the very reason she was still alive.
The man tried to get back up, groaning in pain.
But before he could even stand properly, Elise kicked him again-hard enough to push him back onto the ground.
Then she turned around and ran.
She ran as fast as she could through the crowded streets, her heartbeat roaring loudly in her ears.
Behind her, the man hissed painfully and grabbed his phone with shaking hands.
He quickly called someone.
“I told you the address…” he growled angrily.
“Please come fast and get her!”
His breathing became heavier as rage filled his voice.
“Otherwise…” he whispered darkly,
“…the world will collapse for all of us.”
After running for what felt like forever, Elise finally stopped in the middle of a quiet street.
She bent slightly, trying to catch her breath while her mind raced with confusion.
Where should she go now?
A part of her wanted to return to the palace.
At least there, she knew she would be safe.
But her pride refused.
Going back there would mean accepting defeat.
And she knew Enzo would never allow her to search for Joe again.
The thought alone made her chest tighten painfully.
“No…” she whispered to herself.
“I have to find him.”
After standing silently for a few moments, Elise slowly raised her hand and stopped a taxi.
The driver rolled down the window.
“Where to, ma’am?”
Elise hesitated.
Then she softly gave him the address of her old house.
The house she had lived in…
back in 2026.
The taxi slowly drove through the transformed city while Elise stared outside the window quietly.
Everything looked different now.
But somewhere deep inside her heart, she still hoped one thing had remained the same.
Home.
When Elise finally reached her destination, she quietly paid the taxi driver and stepped out.
For a moment, she simply stood there frozen.
Reality hit her harder than ever before.
The entire building had changed.
The architecture looked modern and elegant now, covered with green balconies, glass walls, and natural designs that perfectly matched the new Paris.
It was still standing in the same place…
but it no longer felt familiar.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Still, a small part of her heart refused to give up.
Maybe her home was still there.
Maybe something had survived the passing years.
With trembling hands, Elise entered the building and stepped inside the elevator.
The ride felt endless.
Finally, the elevator doors opened.
She slowly walked toward the apartment.
The number was the same.
But the door was different now.
Even its color had changed.
Elise stared at it silently before finally pressing the bell.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
A small child wearing a cute oversized T-shirt stood there, blinking curiously at her.
“Who are you?” the child asked innocently in the most adorable voice.
And at that moment…
Elise realized the cruel truth.
Time really had changed everything.
Even her home no longer belonged to her.
Her eyes slowly filled with tears again.
She quietly sat down to match the child’s height and gently cupped his soft cheeks in her hands.
“I’m no one,” she whispered with a weak smile.
The child looked at her in confusion.
“You should go inside,” Elise said softly.
“And never open the door for strangers, okay?”
The child slowly nodded.
Then suddenly-
Elise pulled him into a tight hug.
Not because she knew him.
Not because she wanted comfort from a stranger.
It was the only thing keeping her from completely falling apart.
The warmth of that innocent hug became the only thing reminding her that she was still alive.
She slowly walked out of the building, her steps heavy with sadness.
Every little hope she had carried inside her heart had shattered once again.
The city she once called home no longer recognized her.
And now even her own house belonged to someone else.
Elise wiped her tears quietly and looked around.
A small garden stood nearby, hidden between the tall buildings.
Without thinking much, she walked toward it.
The garden was peaceful and beautiful.
Soft flowers bloomed along the pathways while tall trees moved gently with the evening wind.
Small lights decorated the area, giving it a warm and comforting glow.
Children were playing near a fountain while a few elderly people sat peacefully on benches.
The world looked so calm.
Too calm compared to the storm inside her heart.
Elise slowly sat down near the fountain and stared at the flowing water silently.
The cool breeze touched her face, calming her trembling body little by little.
For the first time since escaping the palace, she allowed herself to think clearly.
If it was really 2030…
Then where was Joe now?
Was he alive?
Was he married?
Did he hate her for disappearing?
Or worse…
Had he already forgotten her completely?
That thought hurt so badly that Elise lowered her head again, trying hard not to cry in public.
But deep inside…
She already knew one thing.
Finding Joe would no longer be as simple as she once imagined.
her eyes suddenly landed on a young girl nearby.
The girl was sitting on a swing beneath a large tree, gently moving back and forth while reading a book peacefully.
For a moment, Elise simply stared at her.
A book.
And suddenly-
Something clicked inside her mind.
The library.
If she truly wanted answers…
if she wanted to understand what had happened to the world and to herself…
then that was the first place she needed to go.
Libraries never forgot history.
Elise quickly wiped away the tears from her face and stood up.
A new determination slowly replaced the helplessness inside her eyes.
Without wasting another second, she began walking toward the nearest library.
The evening wind brushed softly against her black hoodie as she crossed the glowing streets of Paris once again.
This time, however, her steps felt different.
Not lost.
Focused.
Because somewhere inside that library…
She believed the truth about these missing years was waiting for her.
Elise finally reached the library.
Unlike the modern buildings outside, this place felt old and untouched by time.
The wooden shelves, warm yellow lights, and the faint smell of paper instantly gave her a strange sense of comfort.
There were not many people inside, but just enough to make it feel like a real library.
Quiet whispers, the sound of turning pages, and soft footsteps echoed gently through the halls.
Near the entrance, an elderly gatekeeper stopped her politely.
“Name?” he asked while checking the register.
“Elise,” she answered softly.
The old man suddenly smiled at her in a strange yet warm way before stepping aside.
“You may go in.”
Elise frowned slightly at his reaction but didn’t think much about it.
She quietly walked deeper into the library and headed straight toward the history section.
For hours, she searched through countless books, newspapers, archives, and digital records.
But she found nothing.
Nothing about missing years.
Nothing about time gaps.
Nothing about people disappearing.
Slowly, hopelessness started crawling back into her chest again.
Maybe she was losing her mind after all.
With tired eyes, Elise leaned against one of the shelves and sighed softly.
But just before giving up completely…
Her gaze suddenly stopped on a single book hidden between older novels.
Her fingers slowly pulled it out.
The cover read:
The Time Machine
Elise stared at the title silently.
A strange chill ran down her spine.
Almost as if the book had been waiting for her.
Elise slowly carried the books toward the farthest corner of the library, away from the few people sitting nearby.
A small lamp above the wooden table cast a soft golden light over the pages as she sat down quietly.
Her fingers still trembled slightly while opening the first book.
In Search of Time
The book explained the astrophysics of time, Einstein’s theories of relativity, and even the hypothetical possibility of time machines.
Complex diagrams and theories filled the pages, but Elise forced herself to read every line carefully.
According to the book, time was not as fixed as humans believed.
Under extreme conditions, it could stretch, bend…
and perhaps even break.
Elise swallowed nervously.
Then she opened another book.
The Science of Time Travel
This one discussed paradoxes, alternate realities, and time loops often shown in science-fiction stories.
But what terrified Elise the most was one particular sentence:
“A person displaced from their timeline may experience emotional and psychological detachment from reality.”
Her hands froze on the page.
That was exactly how she felt.
Like she no longer belonged anywhere.
Breathing shakily, Elise grabbed the final book from the pile.
The Essential Guide to Time Travel
The book explored theories of temporal displacement and analyzed famous time-travel cases from fiction and scientific speculation.
Some theories claimed that certain traumatic events, experiments, or unknown environmental conditions could theoretically “push” a person outside their original timeline.
Elise slowly leaned back into the chair, staring blankly at the table.
Her mind was spinning.
Illogical.
Unreal.
And yet…
Everything written inside them somehow matched what had happened to her.
The library suddenly felt colder.
Outside, rain softly began tapping against the windows while the old clock inside the library ticked quietly in the silence.
Elise lowered her head into her hands again.
“…Did I really travel through time?” she whispered to herself fearfully.
For the first time since waking up in this strange future…
She finally allowed herself to consider the possibility that the impossible might actually be real.
Elise didn’t realize when one day turned into two…
And two days slowly became an entire week.
She remained trapped inside the library like a ghost lost between pages and reality.
The librarians occasionally saw her sitting in the same corner beneath the dim golden lamp, surrounded by piles of books about time, relativity, paradoxes, and temporal displacement.
Sometimes she read silently.
Sometimes she wrote notes endlessly.
Sometimes she simply stared at the pages for hours without moving.
But one thing never changed-
She never left.
She had become so obsessed with finding answers that she completely forgot about herself.
Forgot that she was human.
Forgot that humans needed food.
Needed water.
Needed sleep.
Her body slowly became weaker day by day, but her mind refused to stop searching.
Dark circles formed beneath her eyes while her lips became dry from dehydration.
Her hands trembled slightly whenever she turned the pages, yet she continued reading like someone possessed.
Because accepting reality was far more terrifying than destroying herself searching for answers.
Deep inside, Elise desperately wanted to deny everything.
She wanted someone to suddenly appear and tell her this was all a misunderstanding.
That it was still 2026.
That Joe was waiting for her.
That her old life still existed somewhere.
But every book…
every article…
every passing day inside that library kept proving the same horrifying truth.
She was no longer part of her own time.
One rainy night, Elise sat motionless while reading another page about temporal displacement theories.
The old clock on the wall showed 2:13 AM.
The library was almost empty now.
Her vision had started becoming blurry from exhaustion, yet she forced herself to keep reading.
“If consciousness remains attached to memories from a previous timeline,” she whispered while reading softly, “the subject may experience severe emotional instability and isolation…”
Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
Slowly, Elise lowered the book from her trembling hands.
And for the first time in an entire week…
She suddenly realized something terrifying.
Not a single person had come looking for her.
Not Joe.
No one.
The realization broke something inside her completely.
That same night, Elise slowly stood up from her chair.
Her body felt weak and numb after spending days trapped inside the library, but her mind still refused to rest.
Quietly, she placed every book back in its proper place exactly the way she had found them.
Then she took out her phone and captured pictures of the important pages and theories she had marked.
Strangely…
Her phone still hadn’t died.
No matter how many days passed, the battery remained alive as if something unseen was keeping it powered.
At first, the detail frightened her.
But after days of forcing herself to survive this impossible reality, Elise had started convincing herself of something else instead.
Maybe everything happening around her was normal.
Maybe there really was a reason behind all of this.
Everyone in this strange future seemed to know her somehow.
Everyone acted as if she was important.
As if they were trying to protect her from something dangerous.
And then there was him.
Someone powerful.
Someone always watching her from the shadows.
The flowers.
The expensive watch left for her.
The strange protection surrounding her everywhere she went.
None of it felt random anymore.
Elise slowly closed her eyes as broken memories flashed inside her mind again.
A huge underground basement.
Cold.
Silent.
Almost like a place hidden beneath the earth itself.
The walls had been covered entirely with mirrors.
Endless mirrors reflecting one another into darkness.
And in the center of them…
Joe.
Her boyfriend stood there motionless, surrounded by countless reflections of himself.
But something about him felt wrong.
As if the mirrors were slowly consuming him.
Pulling him deeper and deeper into another reality.
Elise suddenly grabbed her head painfully.
Fragments of memories kep t crashing inside her mind like shattered glass.
“Joe…” she whispered weakly.
For the first time, fear truly settled inside her heart.
What if Joe wasn’t missing?
What if he was trapped somewhere far worse than she had ever imagined?
_____________________________________
Sometimes the cruelest part of time isn’t moving forward.
It’s returning home and realizing that time moved on without you.
Memories don’t disappear.
They simply become places we can no longer reach.
And somewhere between yesterday and tomorrow…
something is still waiting for Elise.
— Shayarasehar