The Man Who Wasn’t Supposed to Laugh

At exactly 2:17 every morning, someone laughed outside Maya’s bedroom window.

Not cried.

Not whispered.

Laughed.

A horrible, ridiculous, uncontrollable laugh.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The first night, Maya thought it was a drunk man.

The second night, she blamed a stray dog.

The third night, she opened the window.

Nobody was there.

Only the old mango tree stood outside, moving slightly in the wind.

Then the laughter came again.

From inside her room.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Maya froze.

Her phone was on the bed.

Her fan was spinning.

Her cupboard was closed.

And then her wardrobe spoke.

“Can you stop screaming? You're making this unnecessarily dramatic.”

Maya stared at it.

“...What?”

The wardrobe sighed.

“Finally. Someone who can hear me.”

Maya immediately grabbed her pillow.

“WHO ARE YOU?”

“Technically, I'm a wardrobe.”

“I KNOW YOU'RE A WARDROBE!”

“Then why did you ask?”

Maya didn't sleep that night.

The next morning, she told her best friend Arjun.

He laughed.

“Your wardrobe talks?”

“Yes.”

“Did it say anything useful?”

“It said it's a wardrobe.”

Arjun nodded seriously.

“Very informative.”

That night, Arjun stayed over to investigate.

At exactly 2:17...

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Arjun sat upright.

“Okay.”

He slowly looked at Maya.

“Your wardrobe is funnier than you.”

The wardrobe opened by itself.

Inside was darkness.

Not normal darkness.

It looked impossibly deep.

Arjun grabbed a cricket bat.

Maya grabbed a frying pan.

Together, they stepped inside.

Instead of clothes, they found a staircase.

It went down.

And down.

And down.

After twenty minutes, Arjun stopped.

“How big is your wardrobe?”

“IKEA doesn't sell this model.”

At the bottom was a massive underground city.

Floating buildings.

Blue trees.

Flying bicycles.

A river flowing upward.

And thousands of strange creatures running around.

One tiny creature noticed them.

It screamed.

“THE HUMANS ARE HERE!”

Everyone ran.

Maya whispered, “Why are they scared of us?”

Arjun looked around.

“Probably because you brought a frying pan.”

Then a giant man appeared.

He wore a black coat and had silver eyes.

Everyone immediately became silent.

He pointed at Maya.

“You shouldn't be here.”

Maya swallowed.

“Why?”

The man smiled.

“Because you're already dead.”

Silence.

Arjun raised his hand.

“Sorry, quick question.”

The silver-eyed man frowned.

“What?”

“Then who's paying her electricity bill?”

Maya slapped him.

The man didn't laugh.

Instead, he looked terrified.

“You two don't understand.”

He pointed toward the sky.

A huge clock appeared above the city.

2:17.

The same time.

Every night.

“The clock has stopped,” he said.

“And when it reaches 2:18, your world ends.”

Maya stared at him.

“Then why hasn't it happened already?”

The man looked at her.

“Because someone keeps making the clock laugh.”

Maya's face changed.

“The laughter…”

“Yes.”

“The thing outside my window?”

“Yes.”

“The wardrobe?”

“Yes.”

Arjun raised his hand again.

“Who exactly is making all this laugh?”

Nobody answered.

Then the wardrobe behind them whispered:

“Me.”

Everyone turned.

The wardrobe began shaking.

Its wooden doors opened.

A tiny old man crawled out.

He was wearing sunglasses, slippers, and a ridiculous yellow hat.

He looked at Maya.

“Sorry about the noise.”

Maya stared.

“You're the one who's been laughing?”

“Yes.”

“WHY?”

The old man smiled.

“Because laughter is the only thing that can stop time.”

The silver-eyed man suddenly attacked him.

The old man disappeared.

Maya screamed.

Arjun screamed.

The silver-eyed man screamed.

The wardrobe screamed.

Everybody screamed.

Then Maya noticed something.

The old man wasn't running.

He was standing behind the silver-eyed man.

And he was holding a golden key.

He whispered:

“The real monster isn't me.”

The clock above them suddenly cracked.

A black hand emerged from inside it.

The entire underground city went silent.

The silver-eyed man's face went pale.

“No…”

The hand grabbed him.

Maya and Arjun ran.

Behind them, the clock began counting backward.

2:16.

2:15.

2:14.

Then Maya remembered something.

The old man had said laughter stops time.

She grabbed Arjun.

“Make me laugh.”

“What?”

“MAKE ME LAUGH!”

“I can't.”

“TRY!”

Arjun looked at her seriously.

Then he removed his shoe.

And put it on his head.

Maya stared.

“That's your joke?”

“No.”

He pulled out the other shoe.

“I'm a businessman.”

Maya burst out laughing.

The clock stopped.

The black hand froze.

The entire city froze.

Everything became silent.

Except the old man.

He walked toward Maya.

“You understand now.”

Maya wiped her tears.

“What?”

He pointed at the golden key.

“This world survives on one thing.”

“Laughter?”

“No.”

He smiled.

“People who refuse to take fear seriously.”

The golden key disappeared.

The underground city vanished.

Maya woke up in her bedroom.

Morning sunlight filled the room.

Arjun was sleeping on the floor.

The wardrobe was completely normal.

For the first time in days, there was no laughter.

Maya smiled.

Then she noticed something on her bedside table.

A tiny golden key.

Under it was a note.

“See you at 2:18.”

Maya slowly looked at the clock.

2:17.

Her wardrobe opened.

A tiny voice whispered:

“Ready?”

Maya grabbed the frying pan.

Arjun woke up.

“What's happening?”

Maya smiled.

“Apparently…”

She opened the wardrobe.

“…we're late for work.”

And from somewhere deep inside the wardrobe—

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

THE END.