THE STRANGER'S VOICE
222 Words
Episode 3
The days after her first reply felt different. Emilia carried a nervous excitement with her everywhere through classes, meals, even in the quiet moments before sleep. She found herself glancing at the clock, waiting for the hour she could slip back into the library and check the book.
When she finally returned, her hands shook as she slid the novel from the shelf. Tucked neatly inside were two letters now: her last note, and his newest reply.
She unfolded it quickly.
“You feel like a voice I didn’t know I was missing. Every word you wrote, I’ve read again and again. I don’t know your face, your name, or your world but I feel closer to you than anyone I’ve ever known.”
Her chest tightened as she read. His words were tender, vulnerable, as though he was giving her pieces of himself with each line. She wanted to know him to hear his voice outside the page, to see the expression behind the words.
But she held back. For now, this fragile space between them felt sacred, too delicate to break.
At the same time, Adrian sat alone in the café, watching the door. Every time it opened, a small, foolish part of him wondered could it be her?
And yet, he didn’t know her name. Not yet.
- Writer
