Reality switch
Ania always took the same tram to school - number 22, direction Marymont. In the morning, barely awake, her hair dishevelled and her coffee in a thermos, she would get on at the Narutowicza Square stop, stuff her rucksack under the seat and stare out at the streets flowing past. Warsaw seemed different in the morning - quieter, as if the world had quietened down for a moment before the crowds set off for good.
It was an ordinary Thursday. Ania only had time to swallow a bite of her sandwich before the tram came to an abrupt halt at the corner of Grójecka and Banacha Streets. The frozen conductor looked at her from under his cap and muttered something about a delay. A moment later, a soft murmur spread among the passengers - someone had found a small silver box the size of a matchbox on the floor. The box had an inscription engraved on the lid: 'Switch'.
Intrigued, Anna picked it up carefully. It had a small switch in the middle, reminiscent of those on toy machines, which she involuntarily turned. For a second, everything around her wavered and the sounds of the street became clearer, as if someone had turned up the contrast and volume in real life. The tram stopped for a moment and the passengers looked at each other anxiously.
From outside the window, Ania noticed that the trees in Pole Mokotowskie had leaves... although it was winter after all, and snow was still on the ground in the morning. Her phone suddenly buzzed in her rucksack, although the battery had previously been discharged.
Zosia, her best friend, was sitting next to it and asked in a whisper:
- What did you find there? Why does everything look... different?
Anna didn't know what to say. The silence on the tram had thickened and the conductor was still looking at her suspiciously. She clutched the box in her hand - she felt that any further flick of the switch could change everything even more. Suddenly the tram shuddered, and the shadow of someone who by now should not have existed in her life flashed across the glass.
Anna was overwhelmed by the feeling that she had just crossed the border of everyday life, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find out what awaited her on the other side....
Author of this ending:
English
polski
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