[ WP ] You wake up on what promises to be an average kind of day only to discover time has completely stopped for everyone and everything except you . Minutes later , your cell phone rings .

It was 5:30am. June 16th. 2014a.d. 
 
 My alarm clock beeped its hideous, whining beep. Hateful machine. 
 
 I had already hit the snooze button too many times, so I groaned and rubbed my burning eyes. 
 
 My mouth tasted bad, and my teeth felt like they had grown moss. I streched and tossed off my blanket. The air held a chill that prickled my skin when I took off the blanket. 
 
 I decided to forego my morning shower. Really, I had made that decision the third time I had hit the snooze button. There was n't enough time. 
 
 So instead, I pulled on some pants and an undershirt. I started my coffee. I put on an overshirt. I brushed my teeth. I poured some coffee into a mug. 
 
 I remembered that my cellphone was on the nightstand next to my alarm clock, so I went into the bedroom to pick it up. 
 
 I just happened to glance at the clock's readout. 
 
 It was 5:30am. 
 
 I frowned at the device. Perhaps I had hit the snooze button too hard? No better than it deserved, I concluded. 
 
 I indulged my coffee addiction. It did n't make me more awake anymore, but it made me feel less like a dehydrated corpse. 
 
 I checked me phone to see if I was running late. 
 
 It was 5:30am. 
 
 Huh. 
 
 Well, I assumed that I had better hurry to work in case I was late. 
 
 It was n't until I started my car that I began to really feel afraid. The engine chugged to life, as tired as I was with all the miles I had put on it. The digital readout on the dashboard read: 5:30am. 
 
 I blinked. 
 
 I looked at my phone again. 5:30am. 
 
 *A power outage? * I mused. 
 
 No, it could n't be. My phone should be synched to a digital world clock. This could be some kind of global disaster. I got out of my car and walked outside. 
 
 There was the mailman, walking to my neighbor's house. He was frozen in mid-stride. His face was blank, as it usually was during his morning deliveries. 
 
 Across the street, another neighbor stood with one hand on his car door-handle. He did n't move. 
 
 I ran up to the mailman, and grabbed him by the shoulders. 
 
 `` Okay,'' my voice quavered on the edge of hysterical, `` Okay this was a good prank, but it's not funny now.'' 
 
 He did n't move. His face did n't move. I shoved him. He fell over like a mannequin and lay on the sidewalk with his blank expression unchanged. 
 
 I ran back inside and got in my car. I pushed the button for the garage door, but it did n't move, so I got out and opened it manually. I was about to get back in my car. 
 
 Then my phone rang. 
 
 I was shaking so hard I could barely answer. 
 
 `` Hello?'' I said. 
 
 `` I'm breaking up with you.'' 
 
 `` What?'' 
 
 `` I'm breaking up with you. You completely forgot our anniversary.'' 
 
 I did n't forget, did I? Our anniversary was tomorrow. June 17th. I had taken the day off. I was planning to go to my girlfriend's house and make dinner. I had bought a bottle of expensive wine for the occasion. We had been together two years now. 
 
 `` It is n't just that.'' She continued, `` You've barely been around. We used to watch the sunrise together on weekends, and now...'' 
 
 She sighed. I could tell that she was probably crying. 
 
 `` I'm sorry. I just did n't have...'' I stifled a hysterical laugh, `` I just never had any time. I understand.'' 
 
 `` Goodbye, Jeff.'' 
 
 `` Goodbye Amelie.'' 
 
 She hung up, and I laughed. I laughed until it was n't funny anymore, then I kept laughing. 
 
 I held the now-silent phone up to my ear and pulled a goofy face. 
 
 `` Send help, Amelie, I'm trapped in some kind of temporally-frozen hell dimension!'' 
 
 I laughed, and I laughed, and I laughed. I dropped my phone I laughed so hard. I did n't pick it up. 
 
 I went back up to my apartment, and I took the expensive bottle of wine out of the cabinet. I made my way up to the roof. 
 
 The sun was coming up, peeking over the high-rises and the houses to the East. The whole sky filled up with orange-gold. 
 
 I opened up the wine and I was about to take a swig, but I thought better of it. You're supposed to let the wine breathe before you drink it. 
 
 And after all, I had all the time in the world.
