5. Ted couldn't shake the feeling

Ted couldn't shake the feeling that something extraordinary was happening, something that went beyond the ordinary flow of time and life. His uncle, AR, had always been a man of strange ideas—speaking endlessly about parallel worlds, warped times, and how reality wasn’t as fixed as most people believed. Ted had never really understood him, dismissing it as abstract thinking, theories that sounded like they belonged in science fiction novels rather than his own life. But now, in the wake of everything happening around him—the changes in Gramps, the unshakable sense of déjà vu—Ted couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to it.

It had started with that vision of Rafael. It had come to him so clearly—Rafael, a boy he had known for years, someone full of life, laughter, and mischief—drowning in a swimming pool. The image had burned itself into Ted’s mind. He could still see the ripples in the water, feel the panic in his chest as he watched from the edge, powerless to help. But when it didn’t happen immediately, Ted had tried to push it away, chalking it up to an overactive imagination, a fleeting premonition.

But then, weeks later, something strange happened. Rafael had been at a pool party—he was fine, laughing and swimming as usual. But Ted, almost against his will, had been drawn to the water’s edge, a strange tension building in his chest. He couldn't explain it, but something told him to watch more closely, to wait. And just as the unease in him peaked, Rafael had slipped, slipping under the surface of the water. It was like the vision had come to life, unfolding exactly as Ted had seen it.

He had jumped into action, pulling Rafael out just in time, saving him from what could’ve been a tragedy. But the feeling didn’t go away. The sense that there was something more to these visions, a connection to something beyond the present, gnawed at him. Was it truly a premonition? Had he somehow traveled into the future, or was this just his mind playing tricks?

Uncle AR’s words lingered in his ears now—parallel worlds, warped times. Ted had always dismissed these ideas, too complex to entertain. But now, the thought persisted. Could time really be nonlinear? Could Ted, in some strange way, be glimpsing into another version of events, where things played out differently? Perhaps his vision wasn’t a prediction but a glimpse into an alternate reality—a parallel world where things unfolded just a little differently. Could his perception of time itself be warped?

Sometimes, Ted felt as though he could sense events before they happened—an intuition that ran deeper than mere luck or coincidence. He would know when someone was about to call, or when a conversation would turn in a certain direction, like an invisible thread tying his mind to the future. It was unnerving, but also... thrilling. Was it all connected? Could he truly feel the fabric of time bending in subtle ways, glimpsing moments that hadn’t yet come to pass? Or was this just his mind reaching for something to explain the chaos of the world around him?

The thought of it all was dizzying. And yet, Ted couldn’t shake the feeling that the world, the universe, wasn’t as simple as it appeared. Uncle AR had always said that the true nature of reality was far more complex than anyone could imagine, that time and space were illusions, merely concepts humans clung to in their limited understanding.

Maybe Uncle AR wasn’t so far off after all.

Ted closed his eyes, letting the questions swirl in his mind. Could there really be multiple versions of reality running parallel to one another? Could time stretch and warp, allowing glimpses into moments that had yet to occur? And if that was true, what did it mean for his own life—and for Gramps, and Rafael, and everyone else?

The mysteries of the world felt suddenly vast, stretching far beyond anything Ted had ever considered. Maybe his visions weren’t just random flashes. Maybe they were signals, pieces of a puzzle that Ted had yet to understand.