The Glowing Frame

Felix stared at the completed jigsaw puzzle spread across his treehouse floor. The futuristic city gleamed with silver towers and floating bridges, just as beautiful as when he and Maya had finished it yesterday.

"We should frame this," Maya said, climbing through the window with Sketch draped over her shoulder. The black cat leaped down and sniffed the puzzle pieces.

"My mom has some old frames in the garage," Felix replied, carefully lifting one corner. "This one's too cool to take apart."

As Maya knelt beside him, the puzzle began to shimmer. A soft blue light pulsed from each piece, growing brighter with every second.

"Felix, are you seeing this?" Maya whispered.

The light expanded, wrapping around them like morning fog. Felix felt his stomach flip as the treehouse walls seemed to dissolve. Sketch meowed loudly, his fur standing on end.

When the brightness faded, Felix blinked hard. They weren't in his treehouse anymore.

The Glass Building

Felix found himself standing on a gleaming sidewalk. Towering silver buildings stretched toward the sky, exactly like the ones from their puzzle. Flying cars zipped between the structures on invisible roads.

"This is impossible," Maya whispered, clutching Sketch tighter. The cat's ears twitched at the strange humming sounds around them.

A holographic sign flickered nearby: "2055 Medical Innovation Conference - Hall 7."

"Felix, look at the year!" Maya pointed at the glowing numbers.

Before he could respond, a crowd of people in white coats streamed past them toward a massive glass building. Felix caught fragments of excited conversations about "breakthrough technology" and "youngest presenter ever."

"We should follow them," Felix said, his curiosity getting the better of him.

They joined the crowd flowing into the conference hall. Inside, hundreds of seats faced a stage where a familiar figure stood behind a podium. Felix's jaw dropped.

"Is that... Tim Rodriguez from our biology class?" Maya squinted at the stage.

The shy boy they barely knew was confidently explaining something called "nano-medical repair bots" to an audience of amazed scientists. His presentation screen showed tiny robots swimming through blood vessels.

"He's a genius," someone whispered behind them.