Daniel leaned on the kitchen counter while Theo, his baby, laughed in his lap. The child’s laughter was pure joy—a stark contrast to the monotony that had trapped Daniel like an invisible cage. Across the room, Sofia, his wife, placed a cup of hot tea on the table.

„You need to drink it,“ she said lightly. „It’ll help you feel better.“ Her voice carried a playful warmth, but Daniel just nodded absentmindedly. He wasn’t a fan of the drink, but agreeing was easier than explaining. His mind was elsewhere, circling the plot of his unfinished sci-fi novel.

„Faster-than-light travel. It’s such a cliché. Almost every sci-fi novel revolves around it.“ His protagonist, a rebel inventor, was trying to build the impossible. Daniel had reached a dead end, just like his character—stuck in front of the screen for weeks. „But what if,“ he thought, „the ship doesn’t go faster—it moves through time? To somewhere… else.“ He glanced down at Theo, who was trying to chew on a block. „Parallel universes, huh?“ he murmured, as if the baby would answer.

Sofia interrupted his thoughts, passing through the room. „I’m heading to the bathroom. Don’t forget to drink your tea.“

Theo’s laughter filled the room again, breaking the silence. Daniel smiled. These moments of fatherhood sometimes felt like his only tether to reality. While changing Theo’s diaper, the thought hit him again. „Sideways. Not forward, not faster. Maybe the inventor doesn’t even know. He builds the ship, launches it, and wakes up in another reality. The paradox engine!“

At that moment, Theo started squirming more frantically. „Stay still, Theo,“ Daniel whispered softly. For a moment, Theo froze, his large eyes locking onto Daniel’s face. They glinted—green, for just a blink of an eye. Daniel blinked hard, convinced he imagined it. „Green? But they’ve always been brown!“

Before he could think further, Theo let out a sharp, piercing cry. Instinctively, Daniel reached to soothe him, but the baby jerked away abruptly. His little hands flailed as if the touch burned him. „Hey, hey, calm down,“ Daniel whispered. His voice trembled slightly with concern. Theo’s cries grew louder, his small face twisted into something unrecognizable—a fear Daniel couldn’t understand.

Sofia returned, her hair damp and clinging to her neck. Her steps were light and energetic. Her fatigue was gone, replaced with a playful freshness. „Thanks for giving me a moment. You’re the best,“ she said, brushing by with a quick kiss.

Together, they put Theo to bed. Exiting the room, Sofia looked at Daniel with a playful expression. „I’m glad you drank your tea. I told you it’d help.“

Daniel froze. „What do you mean?“

She laughed lightly, puzzled by his tone. „The tea. You drank it, right?“

He frowned. „No… I didn’t. I was here the whole time. Are you sure you’re not mixing it up with your cup?“

Sofia shrugged off his words. Her gaze lingered on him a second longer than usual before she turned and headed to the bedroom.

With Theo sound asleep, Daniel found himself back in the kitchen. The cup was still there, placed on the counter where he had left it—or so he thought. As he approached, his stomach tightened. The tea wasn’t entirely untouched, but it wasn’t fully drunk either. The liquid sat lower than he remembered, leaving faint streaks on the inside of the cup. It was as if someone had deliberately taken a few sips before abandoning it. The tea bag hung lifelessly over the edge, steeped far too long. Definitely not something he liked. Definitely not something he ever did.

His eyes caught a small, uneven mark on the rim—as if lips had pressed there. A chill ran down his spine. He hadn’t left it like that. He never left his cup like that. But if it wasn’t him… then who?

His mind raced through the possibilities—maybe his memory was failing; or perhaps Sofia was playing a prank on him; or… something else. Something he couldn’t articulate. Daniel stared at the cup—an ordinary object of everyday life, now filled with such uncertainty and unease. It was as if the cup held the answers to questions he dared not ask.

Sofia’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. „Come to bed, Daniel,“ she said softly but firmly.

The tea remained there, half-drunk, cooling under the kitchen light.