Small Things That Don’t Make Sense
337 Words
Chapter 4 — Small Things That Don’t Make Sense.
The strange moments started quietly. So quietly that Aisha almost ignored them. One afternoon she walked into the waiting room holding a coffee. Before she said anything, Noah spoke.
“You finally tried the café downstairs.”
She froze slightly.
“How did you know?”
“You mentioned yesterday you might.”
“I did?”
“Pretty sure.”
Maybe she had. Hospitals blurred days together.
Another time she told him about a childhood story involving a broken bicycle.
Halfway through the story Noah finished the ending.
Word for word.
Aisha stared at him.
“Did I already tell you that?”
Noah hesitated.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Or I’m psychic.”
“That’s suspicious.”
He grinned, but something in his eyes flickered.
⸻
Days passed.
Then weeks.
And the camera kept recording.
Little pieces of life.
Little pieces of them.
One rainy afternoon Noah asked his usual question.
“Tell me something about yourself I should never forget.”
Aisha leaned back, thinking.
“You ask that every day.”
“Consistency is important.”
“Why that question?”
He paused.
Just for a second.
Then he said lightly, “Because someday I might need reminders.”
She laughed.
“Of me?”
“Especially of you.”
⸻
But later that evening something happened that unsettled her.
A nurse walked into the waiting room and greeted Noah.
“Back again?” she said kindly.
He smiled politely.
Aisha noticed the familiarity between them.
After the nurse left, she asked casually, “You come here a lot?”
Noah shrugged.
“Sometimes.”
“How long have you been coming?”
He took a little longer to answer this time.
“A while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Long enough to know the vending machine never works.”
That answer made her smile.
But the strange feeling in her chest didn’t go away.
(To be continued)
- Writer
