T.L. Ryan

You find strange, muddy footprints leading up to your front door.

Every day, you take the same train at the same time. And every day, you notice the same stranger sitting across from you, always reading a book you love. Today, they finally look up… and smile.

You find an old notebook on a park bench with a note on the first page: “Whatever you write in here will come true.”

While cleaning out an old attic, you find a dusty, forgotten mirror. When you wipe away the grime, your reflection doesn’t move with you—it smiles when you haven’t, blinks when your eyes are still. Then, it raises a hand and points behind you.

As you walk through a dense fog, you realize the ground beneath you has changed—it’s no longer the familiar path you started on. A shape looms ahead, but you don’t recognize it. Then, you see the shadow move closer…

You wake up to find a small, glowing key on your nightstand. As you pick it up, a faint whisper echoes in your ears: “Unlock the door before it’s too late.” But there’s no new door in sight—just the ones you’ve always known. What do you do next?