NO ANSWER
592 Words
Liana stared at her phone for a full minute.
The screen burned her eyes.
_Should I call?_
_What if he’s sleeping?_
_What if he’s busy?_
_What if I’m bothering him?_
Her thumb hovered over his name.
_Leo._
With the little sunflower emoji she added last week.
After the showcase.
She pressed it before she could think twice.
Before her brain could talk her out of it.
It rang once.
Too loud in her quiet room.
Twice.
Her heart was beating too fast.
Thud.
Thud.
She told herself it was nothing.
People were busy.
People had lives.
People had girlfriends.
Three rings.
Four.
Then—
_"The number you are calling is not available. Please leave a message after the tone."_
Flat.
Empty.
Beep.
Liana froze.
Voicemail.
The loneliest sound.
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
What was she supposed to say?
How do you leave a message for the man who watched you win?
"Hey... um... I just wanted to check on you. Since you said your day was stressful. Hope you’re okay. Call me back?"
Her voice came out small.
Like she was asking for too much.
She hung up.
Click.
Her hands were cold.
Cold like she’d been outside too long.
She looked at the flowers again.
White and pink.
Still fresh.
Still smiling.
_Radiance_ was still playing on low.
Tems singing about glowing.
The song felt cruel now.
She tried to laugh it off.
*Liana: "He’s probably asleep he might be tired,"* she whispered to the room.
To the ceiling.
To the plaque.
*Liana: "Yeah. Long day."*
Her phone buzzed.
She jumped.
Grabbed it.
Not Leo.
Trisha in the group chat: sent a funny meme.
A dog with sunglasses.
Liana didn’t reply.
She couldn’t make her fingers move.
---
_Meanwhile, in Benin—_
Leo’s phone was face-down on the bed.
On silent.
Like he meant it to be.
Alexia was in the kitchen, dancing while washing plates.
Bare feet.
Singing badly.
Home.
Leo came in from the bathroom, towel around his waist, hair wet.
Water on his shoulders.
He grabbed his phone.
5 missed calls.
1 voicemail.
All from: _Liana_ 🌻
His jaw tightened.
Muscle jumping.
Alexia turned around, smiling, dripping water.
*Alexia: "Babe, come help me!"* she laughed.
Easy.
Light.
Leo looked at the screen.
Then at Alexia.
At her wet hands.
At the life in front of him.
He swiped the notifications away without listening to the voicemail.
One thumb.
Gone.
*Leo: "Coming,"* he said.
*Leo: "I'll text you later Liana,"* he muttered to himself.
And put the phone back down.
Face down.
The voicemail light blinked.
Red.
Small.
Unheard.
Alexia didn’t know.
She thought he was just bad at replying texts.
She thought she was the only one in his phone.
---
_Back in Liana’s room—_
She lay on her bed.
Flat on her back.
Staring at the ceiling.
At the crack.
At nothing.
The song in her head stopped.
_Radiance_ ended.
Silence rushed in.
She whispered to no one:
*Liana: "Right. Busy day."*
But the flowers on her table suddenly didn’t look as bright.
The white looked grey.
The pink looked tired.
Outside, was quiet and dark.
Crickets and frogs doing what they are good at.
Singing to each other.
Being answered.
Inside Liana was learning what it felt like to call someone...
...and get nothing back.
Learning what it felt like to be the voicemail.
Learning what it felt like to be the afterthought.
The red light on her phone kept blinking.
No new messages.
Just the light.
Blinking.
Like a heartbeat.
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