Aarav didn't go to the bar.
He stood outside that weird, dead TV repair shop for longer than he should have. The shimmer had stopped, but the feeling hadn't. Something about the air felt stretched—like it was trying to snap back but couldn't.
Eventually, he turned away and started walking, but not toward the bar. He didn't feel like seeing anyone. Not Sarina. Not the friends who only texted once a year. The last thing he wanted was to fake a smile and pretend life hadn't chewed him out and spit him into a call center cubicle.
So he went home.
He flopped onto his mattress, still dressed, and stared at the ceiling until his eyes refused to stay open.
When he woke up, it was Saturday.
No alarm. No calls. Just the fan clicking and the filtered light of a half-dead bulb. He stayed in bed for a while, scrolling through shorts, watching the same three videos get reposted by different accounts. He didn't even laugh. He just needed noise.
He didn't get out of bed until his phone buzzed with a message from his landlord.
Rent's due.
He stared at it, closed the screen, and went back to scrolling. As if ignoring it made it disappear.
Around noon, he finally moved. Brushed. Washed his face. Looked at himself in the mirror and immediately looked away. His fridge was basically empty. Half a bottle of ketchup. Some water. A wrapped slice of cheese that had fused with the back wall. He grabbed the water and sat down.
His mind kept drifting back to the shimmer.
He tried to shake it. Turned on the TV. Static. Opened his laptop. Battery dead. He didn't even have the motivation to plug it in. He lay back on the mattress and stared at the ceiling again.
But the shimmer wouldn't leave.
He Googled stuff. "Glitch in air." "Weird shimmer glass." "Dimensional portal real?"
Reddit had answers, kind of. Mostly people who believed in time slips and alternate timelines and microwave-induced hallucinations. One guy said if you ever see air moving like water, run the other way. Aarav read that and laughed once. It didn't even feel like a real laugh. More like a hiccup of disbelief.
Around three, he left his building again.
Same dogs on scooters. Same pan vendor yelling. Same auto guy pretending not to see him.
He walked slower this time. Let the city pass him like static.
When he reached the TV repair shop, he stopped. Looked around. No one paid attention. Just another guy staring at a shuttered building.
But inside the dusty glass—the shimmer was back.
It was clearer this time. Not just a ripple. It was moving.
He walked closer. The air changed again. Got heavier. His fingers tingled.
He stood still. Just breathing.
Then he reached out.
And the second his fingers touched the glass—
—it opened.
Not like a door. More like space gave up pretending to be normal.
The ripple burst outward. Light twisted. Sound dropped out.
The world blinked—
—and Aarav blinked with it.
One step forward. That's all it took.
The ground felt different. The air smelled... cleaner? Sharper? Like rain mixed with static.
He looked around. Everything was brighter but not harsh. The sky was blue but not the kind he knew. More violet in the edges. No sun, but light everywhere.
Buildings surrounded him—slim, tall, and weirdly natural. Like wood and metal had grown together. Or been designed by someone who thought glass and vines were best friends.
People walked by. Not many. But enough. They wore layered clothes—soft, flowing fabrics that moved like water. No one looked at him. No one even noticed.
Aarav didn't move.
He didn't breathe.
He was somewhere else.
Not in his world.
Not a dream.
Not a hallucination.
This was real.
And he had no idea what the hell to do next.