The Forgotten Hour

Lena was running late, as usual. She rushed out of her apartment, keys in hand, and headed for the elevator. As the door closed, she glanced at the clock in the lobby—7:59 p.m.

But when the elevator reached the ground floor, the time had changed. It wasn’t 7:59 anymore.

It was 7:58.

She blinked. Must have been a glitch.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out into the parking lot. The sun had already set, but the streetlamps cast an eerie glow across the empty lot.

Lena checked her phone. 8:01 p.m.

“Strange…” she muttered. She didn’t remember the elevator ride being that long.

But she shrugged it off. She had a meeting to get to. She quickly hopped into her car and pulled out of the parking space.

As she drove down the road, she glanced at the clock in her car: 7:59 p.m.

Lena furrowed her brow. What the hell?

She glanced at her phone again. 8:01.

She turned onto a side street, hoping the winding road would snap her out of the foggy feeling settling in her mind.

The moment she turned, everything changed.

The streetlights flickered. The air grew colder. The trees seemed to bend in strange angles, as if they were trying to move toward her.

Lena’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles white.

She checked the clock. It was still 7:59.

The same time. Over and over again.

She slammed her foot on the brake, heart racing as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Her phone buzzed in her lap, but when she picked it up, there was nothing on the screen.

Just the time.

7:59.

Lena gripped the phone, feeling a knot form in her stomach. She looked up, and her eyes locked on something—a figure standing in the middle of the street, just ahead.

A woman. Tall, thin, with dark hair flowing behind her like something out of a nightmare.

“Hey!” Lena shouted, her voice trembling. “Move!”

But the woman didn’t budge. She simply stood there, facing Lena’s car. The woman’s face was hidden in shadows.

Lena slammed on the horn, but the woman didn’t react.

Then, suddenly, the clock in the car blinked.

8:01.

Lena froze.

The woman was gone.

“Okay, okay…” Lena breathed, her hands shaking. “I’m just freaking myself out.”

She quickly drove away, trying to forget what she’d seen. But the feeling of being watched never left her.

Minutes passed, and as she neared her apartment again, Lena glanced at the clock once more.

It was 7:59.

The same time.

She took a deep breath and stopped at a red light, staring at the numbers as they ticked away.

The streetlights flickered again, and Lena looked up to see that same woman, standing at the edge of the crosswalk, staring directly at her.

This time, the woman smiled.

And it wasn’t a kind smile.

Lena’s breath caught in her throat as the clock in her car changed again.

7:58.

The moment she looked back at the road, she saw the car heading toward her.

There was no time left.