One Day in the Past

Chapter 3 – Monday Again

Lucas wakes up slowly.

The alarm clock is ringing.

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Lucas opens his eyes and looks at the clock.

Seven o’clock.

He sighs and turns off the alarm.

“I don’t want to get up,” he says.

But then he suddenly sits up in bed.

“Wait,” he says.

Something feels strange.

---

Lucas gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom.

He brushes his teeth and washes his face.

When he looks in the mirror, he stops.

“I saw this yesterday,” he says quietly.

He tries to remember the morning before.

Yesterday he woke up at seven.

Yesterday he made his bed.

Yesterday he ate breakfast with his family.

Lucas shakes his head.

“That was yesterday,” he says. “Today is Tuesday.”

But when he walks into the kitchen, he freezes.

---

His mother is standing near the stove.

She is making breakfast.

“Good morning, Lucas,” she says.

Lucas looks at her.

“Morning,” he answers slowly.

Emma is sitting at the table. She is eating cereal and watching a video on her phone.

“Emma,” their mother says, “no phones at the table.”

Emma sighs and puts the phone down.

Lucas feels cold.

“That happened yesterday,” he says.

“What happened yesterday?” his mother asks.

Lucas doesn’t answer.

---

Lucas opens the fridge.

“What are you looking for?” his mother asks.

“I want to find some juice,” Lucas says.

“There is orange juice,” she answers.

Lucas closes the fridge quickly.

“I did this yesterday,” he says.

His mother looks confused.

“You drink juice every morning,” she says.

---

Lucas sits down at the table.

His heart is beating fast.

Yesterday he ate toast.

Yesterday Emma watched a video.

Yesterday his mother said the same things.

Lucas looks at Emma.

“Did you watch that video yesterday?” he asks.

Emma looks at him.

“I watch a lot of videos,” she says.

Lucas shakes his head.

“No, I mean this video,” he says.

Emma shrugs.

“I don’t remember,” she says.

---

Lucas stands up suddenly.

“This is impossible,” he says.

“What’s wrong?” his mother asks.

Lucas doesn’t know how to explain.

Yesterday he walked to the bus stop.

Yesterday he met Marta.

Yesterday the boy dropped his books.

Everything happened exactly the same.

Lucas looks at the clock.

7:40.

Yesterday it was 7:40 when he left the house.

---

Lucas grabs his backpack.

“I’m leaving,” he says.

“Have a good day,” his mother says.

“Don’t forget your test,” Emma says.

Lucas stops at the door.

“You said that yesterday,” he says.

Emma laughs.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did,” Lucas says.

“Are you feeling okay?” his mother asks.

Lucas opens the door.

“I don’t know,” he says.

---

Lucas walks quickly to the bus stop.

His mind is full of questions.

Did this day really happen before?

Did he dream everything?

Or is something very strange happening?

Lucas sits on the bench and waits.

A few seconds later, Marta runs down the street.

“Lucas!” she calls.

Lucas stands up slowly.

“You’re late again,” Marta says.

Lucas looks at her.

“No,” he says quietly.

“You said that yesterday.”

---

Marta frowns.

“What do you mean?”

Lucas looks down the street.

The bus is coming.

“I think,” Lucas says slowly, “today already happened.”

Marta laughs.

“That’s impossible,” she says.

Lucas watches the bus stop in front of them.

Maybe she is right.

But Lucas remembers everything.

And he knows one thing.

Yesterday already happened.

But today is exactly the same.