The video he hid
319 Words
Chapter 8 — The Video He Hid.
It was nearly midnight when Aisha noticed one last file. Unlike the others, it was labeled differently. Watch later. Her curiosity stirred immediately.
“What’s this one?” she asked.
Noah’s reaction was instant.
“Don’t open that.”
She looked at him.
The seriousness in his voice was impossible to ignore.
“Why not?”
“It’s not important.”
“That’s suspicious.”
“Aisha.”
His tone was gentle but firm.
But that only made her more certain.
She clicked.
The video opened.
Noah appeared on screen again.
But something about him looked different.
More tired.
More fragile.
Aisha felt her stomach twist.
In the video, Noah took a moment before speaking.
“Hi.”
His voice was softer than usual.
“If you’re watching this… it means things didn’t go the way I hoped.”
Aisha felt a strange fear crawl through her chest.
Video-Noah rubbed the back of his neck.
“You forget things,” he continued gently.
“And that part we already know how to handle.”
He tried to smile.
“But there’s another thing I didn’t want you to carry.”
Real Noah shifted uncomfortably beside her.
On screen, Noah continued.
“The truth is… I’m sick too.”
Aisha felt the air leave her lungs.
“It started a couple years after we met.”
His eyes glistened slightly.
“I didn’t tell you because you’d have to experience losing me every time your memory reset.”
The room felt unbearably quiet.
“So I made a decision.”
A tear slipped down his face in the video.
“I wanted at least one version of our story to feel happy.”
Aisha turned slowly toward the real Noah sitting beside her.
His eyes were red.
“You were never supposed to see that video,” he said quietly.
(To be continued)
- Writer
