[ WP ] You 've been noticing subtle changes to your daily life . One day your favorite coffee mug changes color slightly , your favorite book upon reading has an entirely new ending . The list goes on until one day you 're reading the paper and see a headline `` Kim Jong Un Honored at Whitehouse ''

`` You've got to believe me, this is not the reality I am in,'' I told Dave exasperatedly. If anyone were to believe my crazy story, it had to be Dave. We were the best of buddies since young, and there was nothing we would not do for each other. He was the only one I could turn to. The only person whom I can trust. 
 
 But seated opposite of me, only his disinterested face met me. He was absent-mindedly stirring the cup of coffee on the table. `` Gee, dude, your story sound a little far fetched to me, yah know?'' 
 
 My eyes slowly widened in shock, as the realization sank in. Dave has never called me dude before. And he definitely did not speak with a weird hipster accent. They changed him too. Those bastards, whoever they were, changed my one and only best friend. 
 
 Without saying anything, I quickly slid out of my seat and made my way to the cafe's exit. Behind me, the unfamiliar voice of Dave called out, `` Eh dude, who's gon na pay for the bill man?'' 
 
 I cringed a little as I pushed open the door, and walked down the busy street. Around me, the well polished face of Kim Jong Un were displayed on the various big screen monitors, along with the headlines of him finally reuniting the two Koreas under the banner of democracy. Kim freaking democracy Un. When it was just one day when I saw the news that President actually condemning him. 
 
 Suddenly he was hailed by the White House as the pivotal figure in bringing democracy to East Asia. What in the world was happening? 
 
 I moved briskly among the crowd, my mind recounting the strange occurrences over the past few days. First it was my coffee mug. Next was my favourite book. Since when did JK Rowling decided that Malfoy was all along the hero, and Harry was secretly in love with him? 
 
 The stranger thing was how everyone seemed fine with the new ending, as if it had always been that way. No one believed me when I tried to convince them that Harry was supposed to marry Ginny and end up saving the world. Susan even laughed at me when I brought up the idea. 
 
 I turned a corner away from the street, headed towards my car, when I spotted two figures in hazmat suits walking towards me. They each carried a device in their hand, which looked no different than a tablet. 
 
 `` Is this the malfunctioning unit?'' I heard one of them ask. The street was deserted except for us three, and something about them made me feel uneasy. 
 
 `` Who are you?'' I shouted at them, trying to mask my fear with bravado, as I slowly moved backwards. The two figures did not reply, as they continued to approach me. One of them was busy looking back and forth between their device and me. 
 
 `` It seems that subject notices us,'' the other figure said. We were less than a few feet apart. Panic was rising from inside me but somehow, I stood there rooted, unable to move. One of the figure's hands were furiously tapping away on the device. 
 
 His companion approached me further, moving his device around me. I tried to move my hands to grab him, but my body refused to listen. It was like something was holding me in place. Their face was hidden behind their mask, and I could n't recognize what's hidden beneath their suits. 
 
 `` Interesting,'' the man closest to me quipped. `` It seems that the subject notices the changes in his environment, despite the scheduled memory wipes.'' 
 
 He brought the device closer to my face. It beeped annoyingly, in short high consistent pitches. Like it was scanning me. His companion joined him, his attention still focused on the device. A million questions ran through my head, as I struggled to make my body move. Who were these people? What were they doing to me? Why were they calling me subject? 
 
 `` Shall we bring the subject back for study then?'' the second man asked. 
 
 I tried to scream no, but before I could do anything, the hands of the second man moved methodically across his screen, and then my vision was replaced with darkness. 
 
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 /r/dori_tales 
 
 

