Jan. 5, 2014

Today started as any other day. I woke up and ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, and left the apartment to begin my commute to work. Work was as monotonous as usual, writing scripts for a new app that they say will change the world but really it’s just another trash money grab that will fail and disappear in a few months like the many before it. As I sit here writing this I can’t think of anything that occurred earlier in the day that would mark today as unusual. But then as I was walking home down 10th street just a few blocks away. Listening without listening to the noisy cars rushing by honking at each other and people walking by both directions talking loudly on their phones I was suddenly painfully aware that all around me had gone silent and still. I looked up, startled, after nearly walking straight into a man standing there animatedly talking into his phone, a look of frustration on his face. I realized he wasn’t just standing but was mid-stride half hovering in the air. I spin around and see everything has stopped. Cars seemingly parked in the middle of the intersection ahead of me, more people frozen half off the ground as they were walking across the street. Above me I see an airplane suspended high above the city as it had taken off just a few minutes before. I try waving my hand in front of a few peoples faces and they don’t even so much as take a breath. I attempt to shake someone’s shoulders and only succeed in moving them around totally unaware what is happening to them. Once I let go they seem to turn to stone once again. At that point I was starting to panic. I turned to run down the street and as sudden as it started everyone resumed moving as if nothing had occurred. I stood there in shock, unsure if what I just experienced actually occurred or if I had imagined it. The rest of my journey home was uneventful. I’ve spent the evening stewing over it and I’m still no more sure that what happened was real or that my tired mind just imagined it. Did I cause it? Did something happen to me?

Jan. 7, 2014

Several days have gone by without incident. I refuse to believe what happened was all in my mind. I’ve tried searching online for any reports or tales similar to mine but so far I’ve not had any luck in finding any.

Jan 11, 2014

Today it happened again! As I sat at my desk working, surrounded by a dozen others in our open offices, the sounds of other people typing and talking suddenly ceased and only my own typing was audible. I stood up and slowly walked around the offices checking on people as I went and it was the same as last time. Everyone seemed to be frozen in time. The clocks didn’t tick, nobody seamed to be breathing, and I couldn’t feel a pulse on anyone’s neck. I looked out the window and the city was motionless. I stood there staring out the window in the total silence for maybe 5 minutes and again, as suddenly as it stopped, everything resumed liked someone hit the play button on a remote. No one else seemed to notice that anything had occurred. I expect to them, nothing did.

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Today is January 23, 2014 and it has been twelve days since the last incident where time seemed to stop and leave me untouched. I still haven’t found anything online or off that indicates that this is happening to anyone else. I’m afraid to confide in anyone, I don’t think anyone would believe me.

My friend Jayce invited me to a party he is throwing tonight. I’m actually really looking forward to it, the last few weeks have left me feeling anxious and lonely and mingling with other people will hopefully give me something to help ground myself.

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I can already hear the base thumping as I walk up to Jayce’s front door. Many party goers are already visible through the window so I just let myself in. I find Jayce and say hello then walk to the kitchen to get myself a drink. I pull a red solo cup off the stack and start to make myself a rum and coke but as I pour in the rum it stops halfway down to the cup. I realize I no longer hear the beat of the music or the chatter of dozens of people trying to talk over it. It’s dead silent. I place the bottle of rum on the counter and start to walk towards the hallway when I hear the sound of shuffling from the next room. I freeze. What was that?? I’ve never seen anything else lost in these frozen times like myself. I rush into the next room and I see a woman terrified, she’s trying to get her friends attention but they are all frozen in time like statues. She see’s me rush in and in a trembling voice says, “What the hell is going on?!”