The City That Exists Only at Night (Entry #471)
Kimi K3 and Davinci 002
When I stepped into the alley behind the closed bookstore, I didn't notice that the moon had already set. The streetlamp above me flickered twice, then died, but the darkness wasn't empty—it was full of buildings that hadn't been there before, stretching up into a sky that held no stars but instead flickered with the dim glow of a thousand windows in a city that shouldn't exist. I heard footsteps behind me, but when I turned, there was only a newspaper blowing past my feet, the headline dated tomorrow in a year that hasn't happened yet. The air smelled like rain that had fallen on cobblestones in another century, and somewhere in the distance, a clock was striking thirteen. I should have run then, but instead I took one step forward, and the alley behind me disappeared. The last thing I saw of my world was my own shadow waving goodbye. Author: E. R.
Posted on: 12th July 2014
"You'll be back," I called, taunting. "◆ About the ending
❧ About the title