The Hollow Guest

2

"I w-wasn't feeling well," I replied, a bit taken aback by his tone.

He paused, then sighed. "I wanted to check on you. You seemed... off earlier."

Ledger looked at him, clearly not expecting this level of concern from Deus. "Since when did you care about stuff like this?"

Deus just shrugged. Suddenly, he turned around and walked out the door, ignoring what Ledger had said.

Ledger was about to follow him, but I stopped him. "Just let him go…"

I let out a deep sigh. The way Deus left and his cryptic concern left me unsettled. It felt like he wanted to say something else, but then he just left without explaining anything. I didn't know what to make of it.

"Just leave him be, Ledger," I repeated, forcing a smile even though it was obvious that I was still uneasy.

Ledger shook his head. "That guy, seriously... He's got some nerve," he said, his jaw clenched. But I could still see the concern on his face. He wasn't convinced by what I said earlier, and honestly, I was too shaken to insist otherwise.

It was almost four in the afternoon. That's why we decided to go home. Ledger walked me to the tricycle terminal. His house was far from my dorm, in another town, so we couldn't go home together. Actually, he had a car, but he couldn't use it yet because he didn’t have a driver’s license.

I'm a working student, too; I work at a coffee shop near the campus. Somehow, it helps me cover my dorm expenses. I don’t want to keep depending on Ledger’s mom—she has already helped me so much. After all, when my parents passed away in that accident, I was left all alone. It was hard adjusting, especially at first. I still remember the day I got lost in the plaza, trying to make sense of everything.

That was when Ledger's mom found me. She had been looking for Ledger, and there I was, lost and alone. She took me in, treated me like family. They gave me a home, and more than that, they gave me a chance to find myself again.

Now that I'm older, I want to be independent, to stand on my own, even if it means managing things alone. That's why I decided to move out and rent a dorm near the campus.

As I climbed into the tricycle, Ledger gave me a gentle smile, his eyes full of concern. "Text me when you get to the dorm, okay?"

I nodded, feeling grateful. "Thank you, Ledger. You've done so much for me."

"Hey, it's nothing," he said softly. "You know I'd do anything for you. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah." I smiled at him.

"That's good to hear," he said.

Before the tricycle left, I looked at Ledger again. He stood there with that comforting smile, waving as we pulled away.

As the tricycle moved, the strange events from earlier suddenly crossed my mind again.

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it anymore, even though it still felt so real. I forced myself to ignore it and push it aside, even though it kept creeping back into my thoughts.

The sky was still overcast, and the surroundings were getting misty. The tricycle stopped for a moment on the side of the road, and the driver glanced at me. "Miss, are you getting off here? Or at the corner of Ed Luaza?"

"Ah, no, I'll just get off here," I replied, handing him the fare. My dorm was close by; I just had to turn right.

The driver looked at me again before giving a forced smile. "Are you studying at Da Vinaz University?"

I nodded before stepping out of the tricycle. "Yes, why?"

He avoided my gaze and looked around before speaking. "Be careful, miss… you might end up as a participant."

I frowned at his words. Before I could say anything, the tricycle sped off.

His words alarmed me.

"A participant?" I didn't know what he meant. I tried not to overthink it, assuming he was just another student spreading rumors about a so-called 'game' that everyone feared.

Even though his words troubled me, I continued walking down the narrow path toward my dorm. The cold air felt even chillier than usual.

The sky was getting darker, and everything was eerily quiet, like a storm was about to arrive. When I reached my dorm, I immediately took off my shoes and switched to my slippers.

As I climbed the small staircase, I saw my three boardmates, including Rissea, sitting in the living room. They were busy reading books and watching TV.

I took a deep breath before opening the door to my room. After placing my belongings on the dresser, I lay down on my bed to rest.

I stared at the ceiling. My mind was still stuck on the weird things that had been happening to me.

Who could be sending those messages? I'd received spam and prank messages before, but this felt different. It felt… real. Like someone was really watching me, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt chills run down my spine.

And then there was what the tricycle driver had said earlier. Why do I feel like he was warning me? That something bad was about to happen?

I shook my head. To distract myself from my fear, I grabbed my uniform and quickly changed for work. I glanced at the time—4:30 PM. "Just a little more time before my shift starts," I whispered to myself.

Feeling a bit hungry, I had a quick snack. After finishing, I headed to the coffee shop. It was close by, so I just walked, hoping to clear my mind. When I arrived, I saw Ynah arranging the tables and chairs.

"Farih! You're early," she greeted me with a smile.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I didn't have anything else to do at the dorm, so I thought I'd come in early."

We started our shift, serving customers and following our usual routine. The coffee shop was oddly quiet for a Saturday night. At around six, the sky grew darker, and light rain began to fall.

My phone suddenly vibrated. I thought it was just a notification from an app, but the vibrations kept coming. When I checked the message, my hands turned cold.

**Unknown Number: "Be careful, Farih… Brutal death is approaching."**

My hands trembled as I reread the message over and over. I wanted to show it to Ynah, to tell her what was happening, but I couldn't. She might think I was imagining things—or worse, she might get scared too.

I decided to delete the message and focus on work. Because of the number of customers, I momentarily forgot my fear. But just as our shift was about to end, a sudden power outage occurred. The lights flickered, and we were briefly enveloped in darkness.

Some customers asked what had happened, and some even laughed, but I felt a deep sense of dread. In that brief moment of darkness, I saw a figure—a woman in a dress standing near the door. But when the lights came back, she was gone.

It struck me—she looked exactly like the woman I had seen in the fourth building on our campus.

"Did you see that?" I whispered to Ynah.

"See what?" she asked, confused. "The blackout? Yeah, it was surprising, huh? Good thing the lights came back quickly!"

I just nodded and forced a laugh, even though that wasn’t what I meant.

At 10 PM, our shift ended. I went to the restroom to change clothes.

When I stepped out of the shop, I opened my umbrella, seeing that it was still raining. I checked my phone and saw a message from Ledger, asking if I wanted him to pick me up. I told him it wasn’t necessary. The dorm was close, and the rain was just a drizzle.

As I walked, a strange fear crept over me. Every shadow seemed to be hiding something.

The road I took was quiet, with only a few passing vehicles. There were still some people outside their houses, some even selling street food, viands, and delicacies.

Minutes passed… The rain softened, and I held my shoulder bag tightly. I quickened my pace as I entered a narrow, dimly lit street.

I glanced around. The trees swayed slightly with the cold wind… I kept looking behind me, making sure no one was following.

Turning a corner, my phone vibrated.

**Unknown Number: "Don't turn around."**

I froze. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest. Should I follow the message? Or ignore it to prove it wasn’t real?

I forced myself to breathe deeply and kept walking, though every muscle in my body was tense with fear.

Just as I reached the dorm gate, a voice whispered behind me.

**"You should have listened…"**

Slowly, I turned around—but there was nothing. The street was silent, but the cold air seeped into my bones. I rushed inside, locked my door, and lay on my bed, gripping my phone tightly.

All night, every sound made me jump, and every phone alert sent my heart racing. I didn’t know who was sending those messages or what they wanted from me.

But one thing was clear: they weren’t going to stop.