What if the world lost oxygen for 5 seconds?

The streets of New York bustled and buzzed as everyone was going about their business. The contrast between fancy businessmen and old, homeless people completely mundane to all the average New York citizens. All the noise just another part of life for them.

All of a sudden, there was complete silence. Everything went pitch black and everybody froze. No one seemed to be able to get any oxygen into their lungs.

"What if the world lost oxygen for 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... seconds?" a voice asks, as he watches the Earth, completely filled with darkness, throb, just as a heart would, every second it didn't have oxygen.

Then, just as suddenly, the Earth of filled with light again.

Everyone in the streets of New York looked at each other with puzzled expressions then they just shook their heads and went on with their business. Within minutes the lack of oxygen for 5 seconds was erased from their minds, as if it never happened. Everything was back to normal... or so they thought.

. . .

"I swear, I'm telling the truth!" Ethan yelled as the nurses held him down.

"There is a reasonable explanation to why you think you couldn't breath for 5 seconds." Dr.White said, calmly approaching Ethan.

"It did happen! Why won't you believe me?" Ethan yelled, fighting against the nurses.

"You were just loopy from a lack of sleep." Dr. White said, pulling a needle filled with tranquilizer out of his pocket.

"No, I wasn't! It really did happen!" Ethan yelled, fighting harder against the nurses.

"No, you just imagined it." Dr.White said, pushing all of the tranquilizer into Ethan's arm.

Ethan slowly stopped fighting against the nurses as the tranquilizer traveled through his blood-stream. Within seconds, snores were escaping past his lips. The nurses let go of him and went on with their jobs, his fit completely insignificant to them.

"What do you think if going on?" one of the nurses asked Dr.White.

"I don't know but it's weird how every patient is saying the same thing but the charts don't show any defenciences." Dr.White said, looking over Ethan's chart again.

"Do you think it's our oxygen tanks messing up?" one of the nurses asked Dr.White.

"Then why would people without the oxygen tanks say that too?" Dr.White asked, a confused look on his face.

"I have no idea but it's really weird." the nurse said, leaving the room with the other nurses.

. . .

New York was now covered in snow, exactly two months since the whole oxygen thing happened. Everybody was now preoccupied with Christmas and making everything look just right. Little kids were seen gawking at every store window, filled with wonder and excitement.

Then, just like two months ago, everything went pitch black and everybody froze. Although, this time it lasted for thirty seconds instead of five.