Chapter Two: A Message at Midnight
851 Words
Mira woke up before her alarm.
For a few seconds, she did not know why. The room was still dark, and the rain from the night before had stopped. Her phone lay beside her pillow, its screen lighting up every few seconds.
A message.
Her heart beat faster before she even picked it up.
She knew who it was from.
Unknown: Did you sleep?
Mira stared at the words.
It was 5:12 a.m.
Who stayed awake at that time just to ask a stranger if she slept?
She typed a reply, then deleted it.
She typed another one.
Mira: A little.
The reply came quickly.
Unknown: That is better than nothing.
Mira frowned.
Mira: Do you always talk like that?
A few seconds passed.
Unknown: Like what?
Mira: Like you are eighty years old and giving advice.
For the first time, Mira smiled.
The typing bubble appeared.
Unknown: I will take that as a compliment.
Mira covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly. Her mother was still asleep in the next room, and she did not want to wake her.
She looked at the chat again.
Mira: You still haven’t told me your name.
There was a long pause.
Long enough for Mira to think he would not reply.
Then his message came.
Unknown: Names make people less honest.
Mira read it twice.
Mira: That doesn’t make sense.
Unknown: It does when people start expecting things from you.
She did not know what to say to that.
There was something strange about him. He answered questions without really answering them. He sounded distant, but he still replied. He acted like he did not care, but he had checked on her before sunrise.
Mira should have blocked him.
Instead, she saved the number.
Not with a name.
Just one word.
Stranger.
Her alarm rang a few minutes later.
Mira sighed and pushed herself out of bed. She had an early class, and she was already tired before the day had even started.
In the kitchen, her mother stood near the small gas cooker, stirring noodles in a pot.
“You are awake early,” her mother said.
“I have a class by eight.”
Her mother nodded, but Mira noticed the tired look in her eyes. She had been working extra hours again.
“Mum,” Mira said softly, “you should rest more.”
“I will rest when you finish school and become a big woman,” her mother replied with a small smile.
Mira smiled back, but guilt settled in her chest.
She hated that her mother had to work so hard because of her.
After eating quickly, Mira picked up her bag and left for school.
The campus was already busy when she arrived. Students moved around in groups, laughing, talking, and rushing to their different classes. Mira walked alone, holding her books close to her chest.
Her phone vibrated.
She looked down.
Stranger: Have a good day, Mira.
She stopped walking.
Her name.
He knew her name.
Mira had never told him.
She looked around the crowded campus, suddenly feeling like someone was watching her.
But all she saw were students passing by.
Her fingers moved quickly over the screen.
Mira: How do you know my name?
No reply came.
She waited.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Her phone remained silent.
Mira slipped it into her bag, but she could not stop thinking about it.
During class, she tried to focus on the lecturer’s voice, but her mind kept returning to the message.
Have a good day, Mira.
How did he know?
Had he seen her before?
Was he someone from her school?
Someone she knew?
By the time class ended, Mira was more confused than before.
She walked out of the lecture hall and bumped into someone.
Her books fell to the floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” a familiar voice said.
Mira looked up.
It was Daniel.
Her ex.
He stood in front of her with the same soft eyes that once made her believe he would never hurt her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Daniel bent down and picked up one of her books.
“Mira,” he said quietly.
She took the book from his hand.
“Don’t call me that.”
His face changed slightly.
“I just wanted to talk.”
“There is nothing to talk about.”
“Mira, please.”
She walked past him before he could say anything else.
Her heart was beating too fast, and she hated that he still had that effect on her.
When she reached the end of the hallway, her phone vibrated again.
She stopped.
Slowly, she opened the message.
Stranger: You should not let people who hurt you make you feel small.
Mira’s breath caught.
She looked around the hallway.
Students moved past her without paying attention.
But somewhere close by, someone had seen everything.
Someone who knew her name.
Someone who knew more about her than they should.
And Mira was beginning to wonder if her stranger was not a stranger at all.
- Writer
