Cut In Time

The stars twinkled quietly. An unreal silence settled in the air. The girl rose and wandered around, moving closer and closer towards the parapet that barely reached knees. She stood motionless, captivated by the wide grassy field stretched out in stillness below her, which was surrounded by the six buildings which loomed like silent watchers, their dark windows reflecting nothing but emptiness. Directly ahead, the main building towered above the rest, its bell frozen in place atop the spire. Behind it, the full moon hung low and luminous, casting the bell tower into a sharp silhouette—like a shadow carved into the sky. The light was beautiful, almost ethereal, but it felt cold. Too still. As if the scene was waiting… holding its breath. She removed her little diary, quickly trying to describe the scenery and its chilling vibe. “I’ll add this to my on-going series,” she thought. As she was about to complete her piece, she felt a hand on her back, forcing her over the parapet. Suddenly, her voice couldn’t speak, her arms flailed helplessly as she fell from the top of a four-story building. Air howled in her ears but her hair didn’t seem to fly all over, instead they cascaded over her shoulders like they normally would.  She gasped for air but her lungs felt tight and cramped. She kept falling. She looked up searching for something or someone to reach out, to grab. She reached out helplessly at the air, anything to stop her fall. She pulled her diary close to her chest and silently prayed, “Please dear Lord, let me live”, looking at the black sky above her. She looked back down miserably, as the land below seemed to race towards her. She thrust her hands in the air one last time, hoping to be saved. After few painfully long seconds, her hand felt a familiar touch and her feet found what seemed to be a landing! She frowned and slowly opened her eyes. “See, it wasn’t that bad, right Lily?” Dove asked, annoyed, “You need to stop being so fearful for God’s sake!” Lily, who was grabbing onto her diary and Dove’s hand looked around. It was late afternoon, the sun rested just above the horizon, splashing the sky with a mix of orange and red rays. “How did I end up here?” she whispered curiously as she now stood on the little bench right outside the class’s window. “Adrenaline tends to do that sometimes. Not surprised, honestly,” Dove shrugged it off and let go of Lily’s hand. Lily jumped off the bench and took a seat to calm her still pounding heart. She opened her diary again to write about the weird incidents she just experienced, but her most recent entry of the night’s chilling vibe disappeared, without a single trace. It was as if she never wrote a word on that page.  Blood drained from her face, her heart pounded even louder and harder against her chest, her body shook from fear. All the entries of the previous days somehow vanished. The last entry she entered was on 16th May 2018. She frowned. "I definitely wrote about that annoying presentation I had in the first week of June...where did it go?" she thought to herself. “Earth to Lily! Do you want to be late for the party again?” Dove waved her hand in front of Lily’s face.