Dan woke up like any other day. The sun shone through the slightly opened curtains, and the soft sound of the wind swaying the tree branches outside his window felt familiar. He stretched slowly, with the sense that something wasn’t quite right, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. Beside him, Keke, his loyal gray-coated dog with drooping ears, slept deeply. Dan smiled at the sight of him so relaxed and gently petted his head.

  “Today will be another normal day,” he thought, but there was something in the air, a slight vibration, a discomfort that he could barely describe. He got out of bed and looked around his room. Everything seemed in order, except for one small detail: the wall clock was stopped. It read 6:47, but not a second had passed since Dan had woken up.

  He checked his phone, but the screen remained black, no matter how many times he pressed the power button. Frowning, he muttered to himself, “Maybe it just malfunctioned or something,” though he didn’t remember leaving it without battery. He glanced back at the clock on the wall, and a chill ran down his spine when he noticed it now read 6:48.

  Dan shook his head, deciding to ignore the little unease that lingered, and went to get ready for work. As he dressed, he heard a soft noise behind him. Turning around, he saw Keke staring at him intently from the doorway. His gaze seemed sharper than usual, as if the dog knew something he didn’t understand. “Come on, Keke, it’s just another day,” he said with a nervous smile. Keke didn’t move.

  On his way to work, Dan noticed that the air had a different tint to it. People he usually saw around the neighborhood smiled at him in a way he couldn’t quite understand. There was something in their smiles that made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t a warm smile, not even a polite one. It was a smile... too perfect, too wide, as if they were imitating what they thought a friendly expression should be, but without truly understanding what it meant.

  Dan quickened his pace, gripping the leash of Keke a little more tightly than necessary. When he reached the bus stop, a man he hadn’t seen before was sitting on the bench. He wore a gray suit that looked slightly faded, and his eyes never left Dan’s. The man smiled the same way as the others, a smile that didn’t seem human.

  Dan averted his gaze, uneasy, and checked the bus schedule. The digital sign also showed the wrong time: 6:47. The same time he had seen on his wall clock when he woke up.

  “What the hell is going on?” Dan murmured, feeling his skin prickle. He decided to walk instead of waiting for the bus. The walk to work wasn’t that long, and the fresh air would help clear his mind.

  Keke remained by his side, calm, but Dan couldn’t shake the feeling that every time he glanced sideways at his dog, his eyes seemed fixed on something invisible—something Dan couldn’t see.

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  When he arrived at the office, things became even stranger. All of his coworkers were at their desks, but no one made a sound. The keys didn’t click, the phones didn’t ring, the usual murmur of conversations was gone. And yet, everyone was smiling.

  “Is there a joke I’m missing?” Dan asked with a tone of forced cheer. No one responded, they just continued with their strained smiles.

  Dan’s boss, Mr. Elian, walked out of his office and approached him directly. His smile was even more unsettling, and his eyes seemed empty. “Dan, I’m glad to see you. Today is a special day,” he said in a flat, almost robotic tone. Before Dan could ask what was so special, Mr. Elian simply turned and walked away.

  Dan sat at his desk, the unease growing inside him. He opened his computer, but the screen remained blank. There was no response, no usual hum, no icons—just a black void. “This is too much,” he thought, getting up quickly from his seat. Keke was still by his side, but now Dan could feel the weight of his dog’s gaze on him at all times.

  He decided he needed air, he needed to get out of there. When he reached the door, he stopped. Outside, people were still walking, but they all wore that same smile. Every face he saw, every pair of eyes that met his, was lit up by that empty grin.

  Keke let out a soft whine. Dan looked at him and, for a moment, saw something in his dog’s eyes that he hadn’t seen before: a deep understanding, an empathy that seemed human. “What’s going on, Keke?” he whispered, though he knew his dog couldn’t answer.

  He decided to return home. Walking through the streets, the unease still didn’t disappear. Every step he took seemed to resonate in his mind, as if the ground beneath his feet was firmer than usual, heavier. The smiles remained, at every corner, in every face. Dan started running, dragging Keke behind him, who barely resisted.

  When he reached his house, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it, panting. He looked at Keke, who was now sitting in the middle of the living room, staring at him once again.

  Dan collapsed onto the couch, trying to calm his breathing. He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, everything would be back to normal. But when he opened them, he wasn’t in his living room. He was in his bedroom, standing next to his bed. The wall clock read 6:47.

  Keke was by his side, staring at him intently.

  Dan blinked, confused. Hadn’t he just come from work? Hadn’t he escaped the strange smiles? He looked around. Everything was exactly as it had been when he woke up that morning.

  A pang of panic shot through his chest. He ran to the door of his room, but when he opened it, he found himself in the same place: his room. The clock still read 6:47.

  Dan began to sweat. “This can’t be happening,” he whispered to himself. He took a step back and stumbled over Keke, who was still staring at him with those unsettling eyes. There was no emotion in them, just a kind of immutable knowledge.

  He decided to sit on the bed, his mind spinning in a thousand directions. Had he ever left his room? Had he really gone to work? Or had he been trapped in this moment the whole time?

  Minutes passed, though the clock remained stuck at 6:47. Outside, the wind swayed the tree branches in the same way it always had. Everything was exactly the same as before. Dan closed his eyes, trying to relax, convinced he just needed a break.

  “Maybe if I sleep a little, everything will go back to normal,” he thought.

  But when he woke up, the first thing he saw was the wall clock, reading 6:47.

  And Keke, sitting beside him, staring at him intently.

  Dan woke up like any other day. The sun shone through the slightly opened curtains…