It happened again, the whole subway is frozen in place. The cart stopped moving, the busker is standing there, mid song, with his guitar, the baby stopped crying. And the rest of the people? Well you wouldn't really know right? They are all still staring at their phones anyway.

But you know what is weird? I never really realized it until now, but when the time freezes, so does smell. It's actually the first thing I noticed this time. The typical subway smell that musky, dusty, urine soaked smell suddenly disappeared.

It is the twentieth time this happened to me, since it began about two weeks ago, and I don't know what is causing it. It must have something to do with me right? As far as I can tell I am the only one who can move when it happens. The only one who is conscious too.

I tried talking to other people about it, but as soon as I start I realize I am gonna sound like a wacko. Especially because I have no idea on how to invoke it. so I can't even try to prove it then and there, by moving things around while time stands still or something.

I have no idea what it means or what I should do in this situation. I could control it, I could at least try to help people, or have some fun with or something. But I have no idea when it will happen, and no idea for how long. Usually it is just a couple of minutes, but yesterday there was one that felt like over an hour.

Suddenly all the sounds, smells and lights come rushing back in. This time it was just about five minutes I think (there is no way to keep track of time). The baby start crying again and all seems normal.

I arrive at the house party a bit early. A friend from university, Jake, is turning twenty five next week, and he invited a bunch of people to celebrate at his apartment. I am one of the first to arrive, the guy who is DJ-ing the party is still setting up. Jake is figuring out how to connect a keg to the tap he hired and his roommate is frantically putting fragile belongings in crates and boxes.

"Yo Jake, what about my TV?"

"Don't worry man, if it breaks I will pay you back, just have some fun"

"That's exactly what you said last year! You still owe me two hundred bucks!"

"Oh yeah..."

Not long after more guest show up, and an hour later the whole apartment is packed. I know some people but most of them are new faces to me. The party is pretty fun, good music most people are cool, exactly what I needed to take my mind off the last few weeks.

Suddenly the music stops, everybody freezes, the smell of beer and sweat disappears. Not again! I look around, this has to be the worst one yet, it feels like I am trapped in some sort of storage room for manikins.

What am I supposed to do stand here and wait for it to be over again? Then I notice something. Something moving in the corner of my eye. Strange. I stand on my toes to look over the crowd of frozen party people.

I see her on the side of the room, a woman in a white dress. I shout at her.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Her eyes dart trough the room until she finds mine. She also freezes, but it is either shock or she is trying to fake it.

"I can see your eyeballs twitching" I try to make way trough the frozen crowd. "Are you doing this? Do you have control? Answer me!"

She jumps out of the window next to her, looks over her shoulder and climbs the fire escape. I follow her on to the roof of the apartment.

As I close in on her she finally replies. "I don't know. I mean yeah ,I believe I have control over starting time. But I don't know how or why!"

She looks scared, and I suddenly realize I must have looked crazy, screaming towards her. Especially if she expected everyone to be frozen.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, apologize, and introduce myself. "I am sorry I didn't mean to scare you, it's just that this has been happening to me for the past two weeks or so"

She finally replies. "Two weeks ago was the first time I was able to stop time. But I haven't met anyone, until now, who could do it too"

"You still haven't. It just happens to me. How do you control it?"

She shrugs "I don't know, I basically just think 'stop time' and 'continue time'"

For a moment the sounds and smells of the city come rushing back in. And a second later they stop again.

"You see? Just like that."

I try to think about time continuing with every fiber in my body. "It doesn't work for me" I say.

"Here maybe, you need to be the one that stops" she releases time.

We try to get me to stop or continue time for a good while before I give up. She freezes it effortlessly and we talk about it for what feels like hours.

I confirm with her every occurrence of time stopping.

"How about the one tree days ago, in the afternoon. A really short one"

"Ah that one was actually useful. Saved a falling glass at my grand parents"

She appears to have caused every one. I am a bit disappointed I have no control but I am relieved to know who does.

Suddenly we are interrupted, by what seems like a man flying with high speed trough the time frozen street below.