A record of me trying to find out why I’m stuck in a time loop

[Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I got up when the alarm started. I laid in bed for 10 minutes thinking about my day, then got dressed and went downstairs. I could have died when I opened the door to the kitchen. I told her I didn’t know why or how I was stuck in the time loop. That I had tried everything possible to end it, and she just laughed. She said she was stuck in the loop with me. She asked me how long it had been for me and I told her it was 2,628 days. She said it had been 10 days for her. I asked her how long she thought a day was, and she said 24 hours, like everyone else. I told her a day lasted 10 minutes and 32 seconds. She didn’t believe me. Less than a minute later, she did. I reset when the microwave exploded at 6:25pm. [Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I got up and went downstairs as quickly as possible. I had thought about the situation non stop during those 10 minutes, and while I had no idea why she was in the loop with me, I could think of one use for our situation: In the 7+ years I’d been stuck in the loop, I’d tried countless different things to try and escape. Things that I couldn’t do in a single loop. With her help, we could work together and hopefully escape. I opened the kitchen door. She smiled at me. “You were telling the truth. I can remember the last loop!” She looked at me expectantly. I had never been a good liar, so I decided to be upfront with her. “To be honest, I’ve no idea how we can escape. But we can work together over different loops to hopefully figure out how to escape.” “But how will we communicate between loops? I only remember the last loop.” I pulled out my phone and opened the note I had written when I first started trying to write clues for my future self. “We can use this. I’ll rewrite it every loop, then you read it the next loop and we can contact each other in the message. Hopefully.” We both sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen and I started typing on my phone. I asked her what her name was, and she said it was Sarah. I asked her how she got into the loop and she said she didn’t know. I asked her if she had any idea how long she had been in the loop for before she met me, and she said she couldn’t remember anything before our first loop. She looked worried when she told me that, so I tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. It’ll come to you eventually.” “What do you mean?” “When I first got stuck in the loop, I could only remember my work the day before. After a few hundred loops, I could remember going to bed the night before, and in about 2 years I could remember anything.” “How long has it been for you?” “About 7 years now.” The microwave exploded and I reset. [Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I went downstairs quickly and opened the kitchen door. Sarah was already there, reading my phone. She looked up at me and frowned. “Is your name really Jim?” I nodded. “Why did you put ‘Take the batteries out of the smoke alarm’?” I had completely forgotten about that. A few years ago I had been trying to find out how long a day ‘really’ was. The first clues were the microwave and the smoke alarm beeping every day at 6:25. But if I took the batteries out of the smoke alarm, the beeps wouldn’t happen, and I could work out how long a day was by how long it took for maintenance staff to replace the batteries. It took them 45 days. I’d forgotten to put the batteries back in, and it was only when I read that note I remembered. “Don’t mind that.” I replied “What else does it say?” She scrolled down. “You’ve written ‘Thoroughly clean the house.’” “Did I? Well, you wouldn’t happen to know where the cleaning supplies are would you?” She pointed to the cupboard under the stairs. I went over to it and opened it. It was empty. “She’s fucking cleaned it.” I said. “I don’t understand.” “Never mind. It’s just a prank I play on someone every few months. Anyway, shall we get on with it?” “With what?” “Figuring out why we’re stuck in the loop.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t think it’s anything to do with me. I don’t know why I’m here.” I shrugged. “I’ve tried countless things to get out of the loop, but none of them worked.” “You’ve been trying for 7 years.” “Yeah. But I think we can work out that if there’s a way out, it’s in the kitchen.” She frowned. “What makes you think that?” “When the loop first started, I thought it was just my house that was stuck in the loop. When I tried to go outside, I found out that time didn’t pass outside my house. I’ve tried going outside countless times, but it’s always the same.” “So have I.” “Exactly. So, if me going outside always has the same outcome, then it’s pointless trying to escape through the front door.” “Okay, makes sense. And you think there’s something in the kitchen that can help us?” “I do.” I replied. We were interrupted when the microwave exploded. I reset. [Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I went straight downstairs and opened the kitchen door. Sarah was already in the kitchen, and she looked worried. “Read the note.” she said, handing me my phone. That’s when I remembered. I’m the only person who can change things in a loop. Loops play out exactly the same way if I don’t interfere, and Sarah has no idea that’s the case. She looked at me expectantly, and I tried to smile reassuringly at her. She looked even more worried when I smiled at her. “Don’t worry.” I said “I’ll look after you.” “I’ve seen some pretty weird things, Jim.” “Me too. Anyway, shall we get on?” “With what?” “Trying to figure out how to escape.” She thought for a moment. “I think I know how we can.” she said. I raised an eyebrow. “What?” “I think that note might be more than just a note.” “Yes?” I asked, confused. “Well, it can’t be just a normal note. You only wrote it in the time it took me to read it.” I stared at her blankly. “Read the note.” I read the note. I reset when the microwave exploded. [Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I went straight downstairs and opened the kitchen door. Sarah was already there, reading the note. When she saw me, she dropped the phone and ran towards me. She embraced me. “You were right.” I hugged her back. “I’m glad I was.” “What do we do now?” I shrugged. “I don’t know.” “How long do you think it’ll take?” I pushed her away from me so I could look her in the eyes. “However long it takes, we’re in this together.” The microwave exploded. I reset. [Record started 6:15pm Saturday 26/02/2027] I went downstairs. I opened the kitchen door. She was already there. She was smiling, and she waved at me. I waved back. We’re in this together.

A record of me trying to find out why I’m stuck in a time loop

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