She explained that the future was a shared thing—fragile, alive. Elias hadn't stolen it on purpose, but his fear had made him cling to it, night after night, until tomorrow grew thin.
"What happens now?" he asked.
She tore a page from the notebook and handed it to him. On it was nothing.
"You give it back," she said. "By living without knowing."
The next morning, Elias woke up at 2:17 a.m. and felt only uncertainty.
It was terrifying