One day prisoner V

I told her a well-crafted lie. In the end, she said, "I hope you have a pleasant stay here!" Downstairs, I greeted you, "Good morning!" and you responded with concern. I went to the newsstand on the corner and bought a newspaper from the paperboy. I checked the date: August 18, 2008. The headlines on the front page were captivating. I crossed the street and went to the café for breakfast, ordering Brazilian coffee and toast. While reading the newspaper, the café owner said to me, "I feel like I don't know you." "Yes, I just moved here," I replied. "Do you like it here?" he asked. "It's great. Everyone is friendly, and the coffee is fragrant," I smiled at him.

Next, I went for a walk in the park, watched a movie, had lunch, sat in the city square feeding pigeons, and played with a baby in a stroller. After dinner, I strolled the streets until I grew tired and returned home. I lay in bed, fell asleep, and woke up again. It was still August 18, 2008.

The next day (as I habitually said), I left at the same time. The lady from 1608 stood in the hallway and asked, "Hello! Are you the new neighbor?" "Yes. Nice to meet you," I replied. "Where are you from?" It was interesting; I repeated the same words verbatim. She ended with, "I hope you have a pleasant stay here!" I greeted you again downstairs, bought the same newspaper at the street corner: August 18, 2008, news that had already become history to me. I crossed the street and had breakfast at the café, Brazilian coffee and toast as before. While reading the newspaper, the café owner said, "I feel like I don't know you."

Everything repeated like a pendulum. I gave the exact same answers as yesterday. I felt like an unwitting extra in an old movie, aware of everything happening in the movie while the other characters were oblivious.

The park, the movie, lunch, pigeons, and the baby in the stroller... The scenes were identical, the same events, with the only difference being me. No, the only difference was my heart. I was well aware that I had already lived through this day once. It felt strange—August 18, 2008, whether it was permanently preserved like a videotape in some mysterious corner of the universe. And I was cursed to enter this tape again and again, with a heart that understood everything, forced to repeat the same unchanging plot...

In the first few days, I wasn't disheartened or afraid. I even held a sense of superiority and curious interest, observing this insane world. I lived according to a fixed schedule, memorizing the people I would meet and what they would do at each moment and place. I recited my lines and silently spoke the words they wanted to say. In my mind, I would say to them, "Hey, I know what you're going to do in the next minute."

But soon, I grew tired of it. If you think that a certain day in life is joyful and colorful, it's only because it's unique and fleeting. A day that never fades is a terrifying day; it turns from fresh to stale, from rotten to malicious.

I served my sentence in silence. In the first week, I was happy. In the second week, I grew tired. In the third week, I became angry. In the fourth week, thoughts of death crossed my mind. In the fifth week, I knew I was going to go mad.

It's unimaginable that within the same person, on the same day, such a multitude of tears, anger, struggle, despair, and madness can coexist. I hid in my room, crying bitterly, biting my hand with force. Imprisoned by the sentence of time, a prison I couldn't break or escape from.

There is a kind of enchantment that surrounds me. As each twenty-four-hour cycle is about to end, I seem to follow the flow of time, trying to break free from the cage. But that enchantment pulls me back to twenty-four hours ago in an instant. And so, everything repeats itself. I start seeing the same people I saw yesterday, repeating the actions of the previous day. The most terrifying part is that only I am aware of all this; others are oblivious. I envy them, I envy their ignorance! For them, the day I am forever trapped in is just one of the countless ordinary days in their lives. They will spend this ordinary day unknowingly, then forget about it and step into a "tomorrow" that I will never see. But as for me, I must struggle in the never-ending torment, without any sympathy or assistance...

Moreover, you should know that apart from myself, everything and everyone else remains fixed and unchanged, more stable than an atomic clock in each repetition. Therefore, I must pay attention to the precise timing of every event to avoid becoming detached from this world. I have a fixed schedule, accurate to the second. In this clock-like world, I am the only variable, but I must force myself to become a cog in the clock. I deserve this punishment, but let me tell you, it is too cruel, even for a sinner like me.

A prisoner of time is more pitiable than a prisoner of space. The whole world has no connection to you; you alone age in an unchanging timeline, repeating a life paler than death day after day.

Time is such a terrifying, grand, and uncontrollable entity. I mean, when a monkey learns a trick, it can only think of using that trick to earn a bit of food. Only humans, only humans, would use all the power and knowledge they possess for "punishment."

To be continued.