Anshu Agrawal — Age 22
The universe didn't warn me.
It didn't shake, blink, vibrate, explode, or give me a polite SMS.
It just… glitched.
At 3:33 AM.
One minute, I was doom-scrolling memes under my blanket like every other emotionally damaged Gen-Z on Earth.
Next minute, I woke up in a… wedding.
My wedding.
But not really.
---
1 — The Wrong Memory
I wasn't in my room.
I was standing under a broken streetlight, rain pouring like heaven had a leakage issue.
My heart was racing, my hands were cold, and I was wearing an ivory wedding dress that cost more than my entire living existence.
A man — tall, handsome, annoyingly dreamy — cupped my face.
He whispered, "Anshu… don't cry. It's our last night before tomorrow changes."
Then he kissed me.
It felt real.
Warm.
Gentle.
Familiar…
Too familiar.
My lips tingled.
My heart stuttered.
And then —
BAM.
I fell off my bed and hit my floor so hard my soul left my body for five business seconds.
I was back in my real bedroom.
No wedding dress.
No romantic rain.
No hot husband.
Just my messy hair and a pillow judging me.
"What the— bro?!" I yelled into the void.
My voice cracked like puberty hit me twice.
---
2 — The City Screams
Before I could process my accidental marriage trauma, someone outside screamed:
"WHY DO I REMEMBER HAVING THREE KIDS?! I'M SIXTEEN!"
Another voice cried,
"WHO STOLE MY VIRGINITY IN MY DREAM?! THIS IS ILLEGAL!"
Then from somewhere far away:
"WHY IS MY DOG SPEAKING ENGLISH?!"
And yet another:
"I REMEMBER BEING A TAX-PAYING ADULT, BUT I'M A CHILD. I'M SUING THE UNIVERSE!"
I crawled to my window.
The whole neighborhood was awake.
Lights flickering.
People running around.
Dogs barking in Hindi.
Cats staring like they knew this would happen.
The sky itself looked… wrong.
Like someone smudged it with an eraser.
---
3 — The First Real Sign Something Broke
I stepped out of my room.
And froze.
My ceiling had a crack.
Not a normal one.
Not a "my landlord is cheap" crack.
This one was glowing…
pulsing…
like it had a heartbeat.
And then—
It whispered.
"An…shu…"
I tripped over absolutely nothing, screamed into the dark, and sprinted back into my room like an Olympic gold medalist.
"Nope. Nope nope nope! Universe, un-glitch yourself. IMMEDIATELY."
But the universe ignored me like every crush I've had.
---
4 — My First Glitch-Memory
When I shut my eyes…
it hit again.
A memory that wasn't mine.
This time, I was underwater.
Not drowning — breathing.
And laughing with a boy whose eyes glowed blue like galaxies.
He held my hand.
Then whispered:
"If you remember this, run."
I gasped awake.
This was not normal.
Not a dream.
Not imagination.
Not my brain doing freestyle dance.
Something enormous, terrifying, and absolutely disrespectful to my mental peace…
was messing with me.
---
5 — The Knock at My Door
At 3:33 AM.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
My heart did a backflip.
"Bro if this is a ghost, have mercy, I'm already broke," I whispered.
I opened the door slowly.
And standing there…
Drenched.
Breathing hard.
Eyes glassy.
Perfect jawline.
Hair wet and messy like a K-drama criminal on a redemption arc.
…was a guy I had never seen before.
Except I had.
In that wedding memory.
In that kiss.
In that impossible moment under the broken streetlight.
He stared at me like I was his oxygen.
"Anshu," he breathed.
Voice soft.
Shaky.
"I… I remember you."
My stomach dropped.
He stepped closer.
So close I could smell rain and danger on him.
"We were married," he whispered.
"I remember kissing you.
I remember losing you.
I remember crying for you."
I blinked.
He blinked.
And then he said the sentence that officially made me question reality, God, physics, and my sanity:
"In another timeline… you loved me first."
He reached out…
"Please tell me you remember me too."
I opened my mouth.
And—
THE WORLD GLITCHED.
The lights flickered.
The floor shook.
Reality bent like a cheap plastic spoon.
A shadow crawled across the wall behind him… long, faceless, wrong.
And the man whispered one trembling sentence:
"Anshu… it found us."
---