A phone rang in the quiet morning air.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ethan groaned softly and reached for the device on his bedside table.
The sunlight slipping through the curtains felt warm.
Peaceful.
Normal.
He blinked at the screen.
Unknown number.
"…Who calls this early?" he muttered.
He answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
Soft.
"…Ethan?"
He frowned slightly.
"Yes?"
Another pause.
Like the caller wasn't sure what to say next.
"…Sorry," the voice said quietly. "Wrong number."
The call ended.
Ethan stared at the phone for a moment.
Something about the voice felt strangely familiar.
But he couldn't place it.
He shrugged it off and got out of bed.
Outside, the city looked normal.
Cars moved through traffic.
People walked along sidewalks.
No glitches.
No fractures in the sky.
No collapsing timelines.
Just another ordinary day.
Ethan grabbed a coffee from the kitchen and turned on the radio.
A cheerful host filled the room.
"Good morning! Beautiful weather today across the city."
He stretched lazily.
"Nice."
A notification popped up on his phone.
Local News Alert
He tapped it absentmindedly.
RIVERSIDE TOWER COLLAPSE AVERTED — Structural engineer identifies critical design flaw during early inspection.
Ethan blinked.
"…Huh."
He opened the article.
It showed a photo of the tower construction site.
Workers walking around normally.
The building still standing tall.
According to the report, a young engineer discovered a fatal structural weakness during an inspection a week earlier.
The project was halted.
No collapse.
No casualties.
The engineer's name was listed under the photo.
Ethan leaned closer to the screen.
"…Wait."
The man in the photo looked familiar.
It was the same engineer who had been in the ruins.
The one who had spoken to Liya.
But Ethan couldn't understand why that mattered.
He shook his head and finished his coffee.
Later that afternoon—
He walked through the city streets.
The same streets he had once died on.
The same intersection.
But now it was just traffic and sunlight.
Nothing special.
Nothing strange.
As he crossed the road—
He accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh—sorry," he said quickly.
The woman steadied herself.
"It's okay."
Ethan looked up.
And froze.
Long dark hair.
Bright eyes.
A familiar smile.
But he had never met her before.
"…Hi," the woman said.
For some reason…
His heart started racing.
"…Hi."
There was an awkward silence.
Like both of them felt something they couldn't explain.
The woman laughed softly.
"This is going to sound weird…"
"But do you feel like we've met before?"
Ethan smiled slightly.
"Actually…"
"…yeah."
They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk.
Two strangers.
Two lives that should have never crossed.
But somehow—
Something remained.
A memory without a timeline.
A feeling without a past.
The woman held out her hand.
"I'm Liya."
Ethan shook it.
"I'm Ethan."
And somewhere far beyond time—
The echo of six hundred lifetimes quietly smiled. ⏳