Chapter 26: Too Early
TATE ASSOCIATION – 12:47 PM – MONDAY
Tap. Tap. Tap.
El's eyes fluttered open.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Something was poking his shoulder.
Persistent.
Annoying.
Familiar.
He lifted his head from his crossed arms.
His neck cracked.
His eyes burned.
His mouth tasted like recycled air and three-day-old coffee.
"El. Dude. You okay?"
Demi's face hovered inches from his own.
Concerned.
Confused.
Holding a sad-looking sandwich in one hand.
El stared at him.
Demi.
The office.
My cubicle.
He looked down.
His desk.
His pens — perfectly aligned.
His computer — dark, asleep.
His succulent — judging him silently.
And his coffee mug — empty, cold, forgotten.
I'm at work.
I fell asleep at my desk.
But I was just—
The playground.
The dirt.
The cracker.
Kaye reaching for me.
I was falling.
I was—
"El?" Demi waved the sandwich in front of his face.
"Hello? You there? You've been out for like forty minutes. I tried to wake you at 12:30 but you were GONE."
El opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Demi's brow furrowed.
"Okay. You're scaring me. Your face is doing that thing where it looks like you're seeing ghosts."
A ghost.
Kaye.
She was right there.
Her hand almost touching mine.
Then—
He looked around desperately.
The card.
Where was the card?
He patted his pockets.
Empty.
He checked his wallet.
Nothing.
He looked at his desk — no gold lettering, no elegant handwriting, no pinned-wing symbol.
The card is gone.
Where is it?
Demi set down his sandwich.
Grabbed El's shoulders.
"Hey. Look at me."
El looked at him.
"You're pale. Like, really pale. Did you eat something weird? Did you get enough sleep?"
El shook his head slowly.
"Demi. What day is it?"
Demi blinked.
"Monday. September 12. Why?"
Monday.
September 12.
The beginning.
Before the coffee shop.
Before Aletheia.
Before the card.
Before any of it.
I'm back at the start.
But I remember everything.
Why do I remember?
"What time is it?" El's voice came out rough.
"Lunchtime, genius. Hence the sandwich." Demi held it up again.
"Turkey and cheese. Your favorite."
El ignored the sandwich.
Grabbed his phone.
No messages from Demi.
No work chat history.
No Janet from Accounting complaints.
No Nev.
No Hope.
No nothing.
They're not here yet.
None of them.
It's too early.
He looked at Demi — really looked at him.
The same chaotic energy.
The same perfect hair.
The same bag of chips peeking out of his drawer.
He doesn't know.
He never knows.
But this time — this time I remember everything.
Demi snapped his fingers.
"Earth to El. You're doing the staring thing again. It's freaking me out."
El opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
And then the words spilled out.
"Demi. I need to tell you something. And I need you to listen. Really listen."
Demi blinked.
"Okay... that's intense. Go ahead."
El took a breath.
"We've been through this before. Multiple times. There's a time loop. I've been trapped in it for months. Maybe longer.
You and me — we went to a playground. An old abandoned playground on Mercer Street. There was a tree with a symbol carved into it.
The same symbol that's been on a card I had. A card from a woman named Aletheia."
Demi stared at him.
El kept going.
"There's a girl. Kaye. She's real. She's been in my dreams. She's waiting for me. We went to the playground with a magic cracker — it's a long story — and I used it.
I screamed. I saw her. I almost touched her. And then I woke up here. On Monday. Again."
Demi was quiet for a long moment.
Then said. "Okay. That's... that's a lot."
El's chest tightened with hope.
"So you believe me?"
Demi held up a hand. "I didn't say that. I said it's a lot." He leaned back.
"Look, El. I love you, man. You're my best friend. But this... this sounds like a movie plot. Not real life."
"But the details—"
"Could be stress. Could be a lack of sleep. Could be a lot of things." Demi's voice softened.
"When's the last time you really slept? Like, actually slept?"
El opened his mouth.
Closed it.
When WAS the last time?
Demi pointed at the empty coffee mug on El's desk.
"And how many cups of coffee have you had today? This is your fourth, by the way. I've been counting. You're running on caffeine and vibes."
El looked at the mug.
Empty.
Cold.
Forgotten.
He's right.
I can't remember the last time I slept without dreaming.
I can't remember the last time I felt... rested.
Demi nodded.
"That's what I thought. Look. I'm not saying you're crazy. I'm saying maybe you need a break. Talk to someone. Take a day off. Drink less coffee. Actually SLEEP."
"I don't need a break. I need you to believe me."
"I believe that YOU believe it." Demi stood.
"And that's enough for now. Come on. Let's get some real food. And maybe some water. You look dehydrated."
---
LUNCH BREAK – CONTINUED
They walked to the break room together.
Demi kept up a steady stream of chatter.
El half-listened.
He doesn't believe me.
He thinks I'm crazy.
Maybe I am crazy.
They sat down.
Demi pushed a sandwich toward him.
"Eat."
El took a bite.
Tasted nothing.
Demi watched him.
"So. This Kaye. She hot?"
El looked up.
"What?"
"I'm just asking. If I'm gonna hear about her, I need details."
El's eyebrow twitched.
"She's... Kaye."
"That's not an answer."
"She's beautiful. And kind. And she laughs like... like spring."
Demi stopped chewing.
"That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say."
"She is real."
"I know. I mean, I don't KNOW know, but... I believe you believe it." Demi squeezed El's arm.
"And that's enough for now. Okay?"
El nodded.
It wasn't belief.
But it was something.
---
AFTER LUNCH – BACK AT CUBICLES
El sat at his desk.
Mind spinning.
Demi appeared at the cubicle wall.
"Okay. So. Let's say, hypothetically, that everything you said is true. What do we do now?"
El considered. "We wait."
"For what?"
"For Wednesday. For things to start happening again."
Demi squinted. "And until then?"
El leaned back. Stared at the ceiling.
"I try not to lose my mind."
Demi grinned. "Good luck with that."
---
TATE ASSOCIATION – 4:45 PM – CLOCKING OUT
Mira packed her bag slowly.
Watched people filter out.
El was still at his desk.
Not moving.
Demi was beside him, talking softly.
Mira walked over.
Demi saw her coming.
"Oh, uh, hi Ma'am!"
Mira ignored him.
Looked at El.
"El."
He looked up.
"I don't know what's happening with you. But I'm here."
El stared at her.
Mira continued.
"You don't have to tell me anything. You don't have to explain. But you're not alone. Okay? You're not."
She turned and walked away.
---
EL'S WALK HOME – 5:30 PM
El walked home alone.
The city hummed around him.
He barely heard any of it.
Two days until Wednesday.
Two days until things start happening again.
Two days of just... waiting.
He stopped walking.
Looked up at the darkening sky.
I remember.
That has to count for something.
He kept walking.
---
EL'S APARTMENT – 10:15 PM
El sat at the kitchen table.
No card.
No cracker.
Just empty space.
Oreo jumped onto his lap.
Purred.
He stared at nothing.
His phone buzzed.
MIRA: Goodnight, El. Hope you're okay.
He stared at the message.
Mira.
She said I'm not alone.
Maybe she's right.
He typed back:
EL: I'm trying to be.
He set the phone down.
Two days until Wednesday.
Two days until things start happening.
I can wait.
I have to.
He closed his eyes.
And then — a voice.
Not in his ears. In his head.
Cold.
Unfamiliar.
Everywhere at once.
"You're too early to know that."
El's eyes snapped open.
He spun around.
No one.
Just the dark.
Just the silence.
Just the weight of those words settling into his bones.
Who are you?
No answer.
Just the hum of the city outside.
Just Oreo's purr.
Just the echo of a voice he didn't recognize.