W2: The Day I Woke Up with a Superpower

Wong Pui Xun, 2301502

    It seemed like just another normal day—until it wasn’t. 

    Today was just like any other days I had before. Waking up for school, had my classes, heading back home, dinner time with family, and my favorite part of the day—leisure time. As my time was spent playing games while lying on my bed, my eyelids felt heavy. "Am I even that tired?" I thought to myself while fighting the urge to sleep. 

    Just as I thought I could stay awake for the game, my eyes closed. What I didn't know was that my device glitched. 

The Next Day

    I woke up in my bed as usual, but my head was feeling extremely heavy, as if I had a massive hangover. "Did I even stay up that late?" I questioned myself as I stretched while getting out from the bed. As I slowly gained my awareness, my room felt...weird. Everything in the room wasn't like my original room. Everything changed. 

    Where am I? Is this a dream?

    I got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. But as I reached downstairs, my thoughts were taken aback when I saw the people around the kitchen table. They weren't my family. 

    A lady with brunet hair was sitting at the place where my mom should have been. Everything else about her is the same, it's just that her hair was different from what I saw yesterday night. I turned to see my dad wearing glasses, with his hair gelled back, dressed in a suit was sitting at his usual spot. As I was staring at them, there was a boy with tall and well-built figure that I've never seen before sitting across both of them. 

    "Morning sweetheart, come have your breakfast." the lady said with a smile when she saw me. "Are you okay? You look sick." 

    "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied while walking towards them and sitting beside the boy. 

    "Hey sis! What are your plans later after class?" the boy asked while enjoying his meal. 

    "Like the usual I guess?" I scoffed. Hold on... Sis? ...Wait... but I don't have a brother! Then who is this? 

    I forced a smile, but my hands trembled as I picked up my fork. My mind felt like as if there were horses racing. I glanced around, hoping—praying—to find something familiar. But every little detail was wrong. The TV, the sofa, the kitchen, even the family photo on the wall. 

    This wasn't my home! I had to figure this out. 

    "I'm gonna go to school now." I excused myself while grabbing my bag and running out the door. 

    "Wait! You haven't finished your breakfast!" the lady, who claims to be my mother, shouted. 

    I walked to school and thought to myself. This had to be a dream, right? These thoughts swirled in my mind as I stepped into the classroom. Thankfully, my classmates remained unchanged. 

    "Good morning everyone, we'll start the class in a minute," the teacher announced. "Let's watch this DNA sequencing video before we start." 

    The teacher then switched on the TV and played a video about DNA sequencing. "Sequencing DNA means determining the order of the four chemical building blocks - called "bases" - that make --- seque-- scientists the ----" Suddenly, the TV glitched. 

    I then felt a weird flicking sensation running all over my limbs. My head felt dizzy as the world around me was spinning. I closed my eyes and soon the weird sensation stopped. What is happening? Why is it so quiet? I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in an empty classroom. But...the class was filled with people...why is it — the glitch! The thought of Multiverse Travel suddenly rushed into my mind. I've traveled to another universe! A parallel universe! 

    "I could travel between universe?! Through a glitch?" A spark of joy came into my eyes by the thought of travelling and exploring through different universe. "That's so cool!" I exclaimed with joy. 

    Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the classroom, walking through the eerily silent school hallways. Every corner, every locker, every poster on the wall—it all felt familiar yet different. 

    "Hey! I was looking for you!" an familiar voice travelled through the hallway, it was my best friend Jenna. "What's wrong?"

    "Oh nothing," I replied with an awkward and guilty voice. Maybe I shouldn't let her know about the multiverse thing. "I was just uh.. walking around. I need to go to the bathroom." 

    I walked away from Jenna to experiment and try whether I could control the time I travel. While I was figuring out how, I suddenly remembered that the school projector glitches every time we turn it on. Then, I sneaked into an empty classroom and turned on the projector. As expected, the projector glitches and the similar sensation travelled across my body. I opened my eyes and found out that it worked as I squealed with excitement. But what I didn't know was that traces of my existence were being erased as I travel—a memory, an object, a connection. 

    As the excitement of my so-called superpowers surged through me, I failed to notice the changes of certain details. I rushed out of the empty classroom and out of the school. Everything on the streets seemed the same—the gift shop around the corner, aesthetic looking florist shop, the bakery that sells overpriced pastries, and the little store that was run by a friendly old lady, Aunt Lily. 

    "Aunt Lily! I've not seen you for a long time!" I greeted the lady while skipping to her store. 

    "Hey young lady, do I know you?" Aunt Lily replied. "Have we met before? Are you perhaps new to this place?" 

    "What do you mea-" I questioned her when a sudden realisation hit, have she forgotten me? "It's fine, have a nice day Aunt Lily..." 

    Just as I walked away from Aunt Lily's store, I saw Jenna walking past me. "Jenna!" I shouted. 

    Jenna heard my voice and turned around to look at me, with a confused expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong person. I don't know you." Jenna said. 

    What? But I thought we were best friends? 

    I looked through my phone to find for something that could prove that me and Jenna were best friends. But as I scrolled, my heart dropped. There was nothing. No photos of us together. No texts. No group selfies, no nothing. It was as if our friendship had never existed.

    "No… no, no, no," I whispered, my hands trembling. I had only traveled a couple of times. How could so much be erased already? First was Aunt Lily, and now Jenna?

    "Hey...are you okay?" Jenna asked, taking a hesitant step back, looking at me as if you were looking at a stranger. 

    I swallowed hard. "Yeah… yeah, sorry. I thought you were someone else." My voice shivered.

    Jenna gave me an awkward smile before walking away. I stood frozen in place with thoughts racing through my mind. What else had changed? While being lost in my thoughts, panic grew inside of me. I have to go home. Now. 

    Without wasting any time, I sprinted back home to find out that I wasn't able to get in. The locks are different. I quickly peeked in through the window to find that the interior of the house were completely different from what I was familiar with. I glanced at a family photo of my mum, my dad, and my so-called brother—without me. 

    "Excuse me? What are you doing in front of my house?" a man's voice asked, catching me off guard. 

    "Dad?" I replied with tears in my eyes. "Dad, its me! I'm-" My voice broke off as my mind went blank. Who am I? A cold chill ran down my spine as I struggled to grasp onto something—anything—that could remind me of who I was. But the more I tried, the emptier my mind became.

    "Are you okay?" the man questioned with a concerned look. "Are you looking for your dad? Do you need any help?"

    Before I could reply, I backed away from him, my dad. Or at least, it used to be. I turned and ran. As I was running, glitches could be seen in front of my eye, as if it was in a virtual reality. Everything around me was flickering with blocks of colors jumbled up in front of my eye. No.. I can't just disappear like that! I began to struggle, trying to fight against the phenomenon. However, nothing worked as I was swallowed by large amount of coloured pixels. 

    ......I woke up...again. 

    This time, I woke up in a bed. The bed in my own room. I breathe heavily trying to take in all the air in front of me. Did I disappear? I quickly look through my phone searching for any traces of Jenna. Thankfully, it was there. Clinging onto that hope, I rushed downstairs while looking around trying to differentiate any minor details of the interior. Everything seems normal now—even the family photo. The boy was gone. I let out a sigh of relieve as my dad entered the house. 

    "Dad?" I questioned uncertainly. 

    "Hey girl, how was your day?" my dad replied with a sweet smile on his face. 

    "It was fine. I had a long dream." I replied, trying to hold back my tears. "Let's have dinner now."

    "Sure." he replied while patting my head, smiling as he heads to the kitchen. 

    I took a deep breath and followed my dad to the kitchen. Maybe it was just a dream all along. An unforgettable dream. 

    ......Or is it?

Reference

Nhgri. DNA sequencing fact sheet. Genome.gov.  (2019, March 9).   https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/DNA-Sequencing-Fact-Sheet#:~:text=What%20is%20DNA%20sequencing%3F,in%20a%20particular%20DNA%20segment.

Old Tv Glitch Photos & Images. (n.d.).  Vecteezy. https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/old-tv-glitch