The Message That Waited
The message arrived at 12:43 a.m.
No sound. No vibration.
It simply appeared on her phone like it had been waiting.
Unknown sender:
“You said you’d come back.”
She stared at the screen, confused. The number wasn’t saved. The message history was empty. Still, something about the words felt familiar—too familiar.
She typed back.
“Who is this?”
The reply came instantly.
“You already forgot.”
Her chest tightened. She searched her gallery, her notes, old chats—anything that might explain the feeling growing in her stomach. Nothing matched.
Another message appeared.
“You promised on the last night.”
Images surfaced without warning: rain against glass, a streetlight flickering, her voice shaking as she said I won’t disappear.
But she had.
The sender kept typing.
“You said silence would be temporary.”
“You said it wouldn’t hurt like this.”
She remembered then—not a person, but a version of herself. The one who stayed awake past midnight, writing thoughts she was too afraid to face. The one who typed messages she never sent. The one she buried beneath routines and daylight.
Her phone buzzed again.
“I’m still here,” the message read.
“Waiting where you left me.”
Tears blurred her vision.
She typed slowly this time.
“I’m sorry.”
The reply took longer.
“I know.”
Then one final message appeared.
“Just don’t forget me again.”
The chat vanished.
No number.
No history.
No proof.
Only a note in her drafts folder—dated years ago:
If you ever feel empty, it’s because you abandoned yourself.
That night, she didn’t turn off her phone.
And for the first time in a long while, she listened when the silence spoke.

Comments
Post a Comment