CHAPTER TWO -ECHOES OF A BROTHER
1648 Words
Aiden did not sleep that night.
Not after seeing the impossible photograph. Not after hearing the whisper echoing in his mind:
“Some timelines hide their survivors.”
He held the photo under the lamplight, his hands trembling. His brother, Liam—older, hardened, dressed in a detective’s coat—stared back at him with eyes that looked like they carried years of secrets. And anger.
Aiden whispered, “Where have you been…?”
The room answered with silence.
But deep inside, something twisted—something that wasn’t his memory, yet felt like it belonged to him.
ZARA’S OBSESSION
Across the city, Zara stood over her holographic screen, replaying the vision of the falling boy in her mind. She didn’t believe in ghosts. She didn’t believe in visions. Zara believed in logic, in things she could explain and break apart and rebuild.
But nothing about the symbol, the glitch, or the boy made sense.
She opened a new file and began sketching the boy’s face from memory. The lines came naturally. Almost too naturally.
“Why do I remember you?” she murmured.
The symbol appeared again on her screen—this time forming the outline of two silhouettes overlapping like swapped souls.
Zara’s breath caught. “No… this is impossible.”
She reached for her tablet—
And her lights flickered.
A strong energy pulse rippled through the room.
Someone—or something—was entering her timeline.
THE DETECTIVE RETURNS
Meanwhile, Aiden froze when he heard the front door creak open downstairs. His mother never came home this late.
“Aiden?” she called. But her voice sounded unfocused, distant.
He hurried down the stairs—
And stopped dead.
She was standing in the hallway, shaking, clutching her head as if fighting something inside her. Her eyes flickered—one moment clear, the next clouded with another person’s expression.
Then she whispered a name:
“Liam…”
Aiden’s throat tightened. “Mom? What are you remembering?”
But her voice suddenly deepened—
as though someone else was speaking through her.
“He’s back.”
The lights flickered.CHAPTER TWO — ECHOES OF A BROTHER
Aiden did not sleep that night.
Not after seeing the impossible photograph. Not after hearing the whisper echoing in his mind:
“Some timelines hide their survivors.”
He held the photo under the lamplight, his hands trembling. His brother, Liam—older, hardened, dressed in a detective’s coat—stared back at him with eyes that looked like they carried years of secrets. And anger.
Aiden whispered, “Where have you been…?”
The room answered with silence.
But deep inside, something twisted—something that wasn’t his memory, yet felt like it belonged to him.
ZARA’S OBSESSION
Across the city, Zara stood over her holographic screen, replaying the vision of the falling boy in her mind. She didn’t believe in ghosts. She didn’t believe in visions. Zara believed in logic, in things she could explain and break apart and rebuild.
But nothing about the symbol, the glitch, or the boy made sense.
She opened a new file and began sketching the boy’s face from memory. The lines came naturally. Almost too naturally.
“Why do I remember you?” she murmured.
The symbol appeared again on her screen—this time forming the outline of two silhouettes overlapping like swapped souls.
Zara’s breath caught. “No… this is impossible.”
She reached for her tablet—
And her lights flickered.
A strong energy pulse rippled through the room.
Someone—or something—was entering her timeline.
THE DETECTIVE RETURNS
Meanwhile, Aiden froze when he heard the front door creak open downstairs. His mother never came home this late.
“Aiden?” she called. But her voice sounded unfocused, distant.
He hurried down the stairs—
And stopped dead.
She was standing in the hallway, shaking, clutching her head as if fighting something inside her. Her eyes flickered—one moment clear, the next clouded with another person’s expression.
Then she whispered a name:
“Liam…”
Aiden’s throat tightened. “Mom? What are you remembering?”
But her voice suddenly deepened—
as though someone else was speaking through her.
“He’s back.”
The lights flickered.
A shadow moved behind the curtains.
Aiden spun around, adrenaline rushing through him—
And saw the silhouette of a man standing outside under the CHAPTER TWO — ECHOES OF A BROTHER
Aiden did not sleep that night.
Not after seeing the impossible photograph. Not after hearing the whisper echoing in his mind:
“Some timelines hide their survivors.”
He held the photo under the lamplight, his hands trembling. His brother, Liam—older, hardened, dressed in a detective’s coat—stared back at him with eyes that looked like they carried years of secrets. And anger.
Aiden whispered, “Where have you been…?”
The room answered with silence.
But deep inside, something twisted—something that wasn’t his memory, yet felt like it belonged to him.
ZARA’S OBSESSION
Across the city, Zara stood over her holographic screen, replaying the vision of the falling boy in her mind. She didn’t believe in ghosts. She didn’t believe in visions. Zara believed in logic, in things she could explain and break apart and rebuild.
But nothing about the symbol, the glitch, or the boy made sense.
She opened a new file and began sketching the boy’s face from memory. The lines came naturally. Almost too naturally.
“Why do I remember you?” she murmured.
The symbol appeared again on her screen—this time forming the outline of two silhouettes overlapping like swapped souls.
Zara’s breath caught. “No… this is impossible.”
She reached for her tablet—
And her lights flickered.
A strong energy pulse rippled through the room.
Someone—or something—was entering her timeline.
THE DETECTIVE RETURNS
Meanwhile, Aiden froze when he heard the front door creak open downstairs. His mother never came home this late.
“Aiden?” she called. But her voice sounded unfocused, distant.
He hurried down the stairs—
And stopped dead.
She was standing in the hallway, shaking, clutching her head as if fighting something inside her. Her eyes flickered—one moment clear, the next clouded with another person’s expression.
Then she whispered a name:
“Liam…”
Aiden’s throat tightened. “Mom? What are you remembering?”
But her voice suddenly deepened—
as though someone else was speaking through her.
“He’s back.”
The lights flickered.
A shadow moved behind the curtains.
Aiden spun around, adrenaline rushing through him—
And saw the silhouette of a man standing outside under the streetlight.
Tall. Still. Watching.
Aiden’s heart nearly stopped.
The silhouette stepped forward—
And even though he couldn’t see the face clearly, Aiden knew.
His brother had found him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER TWO — ECHOES OF A BROTHER
Aiden did not sleep that night.
Not after seeing the impossible photograph. Not after hearing the whisper echoing in his mind:
“Some timelines hide their survivors.”
He held the photo under the lamplight, his hands trembling. His brother, Liam—older, hardened, dressed in a detective’s coat—stared back at him with eyes that looked like they carried years of secrets. And anger.
Aiden whispered, “Where have you been…?”
The room answered with silence.
But deep inside, something twisted—something that wasn’t his memory, yet felt like it belonged to him.
ZARA’S OBSESSION
Across the city, Zara stood over her holographic screen, replaying the vision of the falling boy in her mind. She didn’t believe in ghosts. She didn’t believe in visions. Zara believed in logic, in things she could explain and break apart and rebuild.
But nothing about the symbol, the glitch, or the boy made sense.
She opened a new file and began sketching the boy’s face from memory. The lines came naturally. Almost too naturally.
“Why do I remember you?” she murmured.
The symbol appeared again on her screen—this time forming the outline of two silhouettes overlapping like swapped souls.
Zara’s breath caught. “No… this is impossible.”
She reached for her tablet—
And her lights flickered.
A strong energy pulse rippled through the room.
Someone—or something—was entering her timeline.
THE DETECTIVE RETURNS
Meanwhile, Aiden froze when he heard the front door creak open downstairs. His mother never came home this late.
“Aiden?” she called. But her voice sounded unfocused, distant.
He hurried down the stairs—
And stopped dead.
She was standing in the hallway, shaking, clutching her head as if fighting something inside her. Her eyes flickered—one moment clear, the next clouded with another person’s expression.
Then she whispered a name:
“Liam…”
Aiden’s throat tightened. “Mom? What are you remembering?”
But her voice suddenly deepened—
as though someone else was speaking through her.
“He’s back.”
The lights flickered.
A shadow moved behind the curtains.
Aiden spun around, adrenaline rushing through him—
And saw the silhouette of a man standing outside under the streetlight.
Tall. Still. Watching.
Aiden’s heart nearly stopped.
The silhouette stepped forward—
And even though he couldn’t see the face clearly, Aiden knew.
His brother had found him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
.
Tall. Still. Watching.
Aiden’s heart nearly stopped.
The silhouette stepped forward—
And even though he couldn’t see the face clearly, Aiden knew.
His brother had found him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A shadow moved behind the curtains.
Aiden spun around, adrenaline rushing through him—
And saw the silhouette of a man standing outside under the streetlight.
Tall. Still. Watching.
Aiden’s heart nearly stopped.
The silhouette stepped forward—
And even though he couldn’t see the face clearly, Aiden knew.
His brother had found him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
- Writer
