Time Stopper

   Everyone in the room around me stood still and motionless. No one even appeared to breathe except me. The man at the head of the conference table stood in an awkward position. He was leaned over the table, mouth open, and was barely even touching the ground with his left foot.

   I laughed and said, “Nice party trick, guys, but we need to continue the meeting.” Still, no one moved. Sweat broke out on my forehead and I headed into the break room to get a glass of water and clear my head. Only when I pushed the button on the water fountain, nothing happened.

   I figured the thing was messed up and went back to the conference room. No one seemed to have moved while I was gone. I sat there, puzzling over it for awhile until I decided to just leave.

   Out on the streets of New York, nothing was any different. Everyone stood around, frozen in place. I shook my head and walked down the sidewalk toward my apartment. “These people are going to a lot of effort just to mess with me.” I thought as I passed a girl who was doing a handstand in Central Park.

   As I entered my apartment building, I stopped dead. Maria, one of my neighbors, was standing there, her mouth open like she had frozen while chewing her food. I then knew this wasn’t a joke. Maria was very proper, she always chewed with her mouth closed in public and would never and I mean never be caught in a position like that.

   I dropped my bags and raced to the elevator, slamming my fist into the button, but the elevator never came. I hissed with fury and annoyance and ran up the steps to floor eight instead.

   My door was half open, Jane, my three-year-old daughter, was sitting on the couch inside. I walked inside and sat down by Jane and shook her, trying to get her to snap out of it. She didn’t even blink. Her baby blue eyes stared with wonder at the television behind me and I turned and looked at the screen. Some new toy commercial I finally decided.

   I hauled myself to my feet and looked out at the city from my window. Nothing moved. It was eerily silent and every bird, car, and person was frozen. One of said birds was frozen in mid-flight right in front of my window.

  I waited for what felt like hours, but nothing happened. In the morning, or what felt like it since the sun never moved in the past few hours, the scene was no different. By that night, or what felt like it, no one had shifted either.

  Just as I thought I’d be stuck in a world where no one but myself could move, it suddenly clicked in my mind. I looked down at my shaking hands and headed back to my office. I took the position I’d been in when this whole mess had started and let my thoughts wonder back to the morning.

  The man resumed his lecture and I sighed with relief. I held my hands out in front of me and looked from them to the window, shaking my head.

   From that day forward, I never stopped time again, nor did I ever understand why people would want to. It’s quite a terrifying experience, being the only one who can move in the world.

   One day though, the air around me crackled and the people stopped. I smiled. It seemed we had another time stopper who had just discovered his power.