Gaëlle proposa d’aller dans un café prendre un

The air crackled with anticipation as Axel recounted his tale. John, his face a mixture of awe and skepticism, leaned forward. Sam, a perpetual skeptic, had his arms crossed, but a flicker of curiosity danced in his eyes.

“So there I was,” Axel continued, his voice laced with disbelief, “standing on the corner, waiting for the bus, when a blinding white light engulfed me. In the blink of an eye, I was gone. And when I opened my eyes, I was… well, let’s just say I wasn’t in Paris anymore.”

He described the strange, futuristic city, the sleek flying vehicles, the people who seemed to be plugged into their devices constantly. He talked about the holographic displays that advertised strange, new foods and the robots that moved about like silent, efficient servants.

“It was surreal,” he concluded, taking a long sip of his beer. “Like a science fiction movie come to life.”

John, always the optimist, clapped him on the back. “Incredible, man! You must have a story to tell the grandkids.”

But Sam, his gaze fixed on Axel, wasn’t convinced. “How did you get back? How did you even get there in the first place?”

Axel shrugged, his face serious for the first time. “I don’t know. I was just… there. Like it was meant to be. And then, just as suddenly, the same light appeared, and I was back.”

“But what happened? What made you disappear and then reappear?” Sam pressed, his voice low and urgent.

Axel hesitated, a flicker of fear crossing his face. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. It’s like… like it was a glitch in the fabric of reality. A mistake. I just don’t understand it.”

The others fell silent. The mystery hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Gaëlle, her eyes filled with concern, placed a hand on Axel’s arm. “You’re okay, though, right? You’re not… hurt?”

Axel looked at her, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion. He nodded slowly. “Physically, I’m fine. But… I’m not sure about mentally. It feels like there’s something missing, something I can’t quite grasp.”

The weeks that followed were filled with an uneasy tension. Axel, despite his outward normalcy, seemed to be carrying a heavy weight, a secret burden. He was withdrawn, haunted by the silence of the future and the unanswered questions that plagued his mind.

John and Sam, along with Gaëlle, tried their best to be supportive, but they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong. The questions lingered, like a shadow that followed them everywhere.

One rainy evening, as they gathered at John’s apartment, Axel announced he had found something. He pulled out a small, metal object, shimmering with an almost otherworldly glow. “I found this in my pocket when I got back,” he explained. “I don’t remember picking it up, but it was there.”

He held the object up, its surface smooth and cold. It radiated an eerie energy, pulsing faintly.

“What is it?” Sam asked, his voice hushed.

Axel shook his head. “I don’t know. It feels familiar, like a piece of a forgotten dream. But it’s also… unsettling. Like a piece of a puzzle I don’t understand.”

He placed the object on the table, its faint glow illuminating their faces. The room was silent, punctuated only by the rhythmic drumming of the rain against the windowpane.

Suddenly, the object began to glow brighter, its surface pulsating with an almost blinding intensity. A humming sound filled the room, growing louder by the second. The friends looked at each other, fear and confusion etched on their faces.

As the light intensified, they knew they were in the midst of something far bigger than they had ever imagined.

This was no mere trip to the future. It was something much deeper, a secret that threatened to unravel their reality. The mystery had just begun.