BENEATH THE SURFACE
1005 Words
The next morning felt unreal.
Elizabeth moved through it like she was following a script she had memorized long ago waking up, getting dressed, stepping into the dining room with the same calm expression she always wore. Nothing on the outside had changed.
But everything inside her had.
She barely tasted the food in front of her, her mind replaying the night before in fragments. His voice. His presence. The way he had stood there, real and undeniable, yet still just out of reach.
“You need to stay away from me.”
The words echoed in her head.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the fork in her hand.
If he was so dangerous… then why did he keep coming back?
“Elizabeth.”
She blinked, looking up to find her father watching her closely from across the table.
“Yes, Dad?”
“You’re distracted,” he said calmly. “Is something bothering you?”
For a moment, she considered telling him.
Not everything but something. Enough to make sense of the unease sitting in her chest.
But the thought passed just as quickly as it came.
“No,” she replied, forcing a small smile. “Just didn’t sleep well.”
His gaze lingered on her a second longer than usual, like he didn’t fully believe her. Then he nodded.
“Take care of yourself,” he said.
“I will.”
But even as she said it, she knew she didn’t have control over what was happening anymore.
Outside, Middleseki was as lively as ever. The city moved with its usual rhythm, full of energy and life, hiding everything beneath its polished surface.
Elizabeth walked through it quietly, more aware than she had ever been before.
Every passing face.
Every glance.
Every movement.
It all felt different now.
Like she had stepped into something she couldn’t fully see yet.
“Okay, now you’re definitely somewhere else.”
Clara’s voice pulled her back, and Elizabeth glanced at her with a faint smile. “I’m here.”
“Barely,” Clara said, studying her. “You’ve been quiet all morning.”
Elizabeth hesitated. She hadn’t told Clara about what happened last night not yet. Saying it out loud would make it real in a way she wasn’t sure she was ready for.
But keeping it to herself felt just as heavy.
“I saw him again,” she said finally.
Clara frowned. “The dream guy?”
“He wasn’t in my dream this time,” Elizabeth replied, her voice lower now. “He was in my room.”
Clara stopped walking.
“You’re serious?”
Elizabeth nodded.
For a moment, Clara didn’t speak. The teasing expression she usually wore was gone, replaced by something more cautious.
“And you’re sure you weren’t dreaming?”
“I was awake,” Elizabeth said firmly. “I saw him. I heard him.”
Clara let out a slow breath. “Okay… that’s not normal.”
“I know.”
A brief silence settled between them as they resumed walking.
“What did he say?” Clara asked after a moment.
Elizabeth looked ahead, her thoughts drifting back. “He told me to stay away from him.”
Clara gave a small, confused laugh. “That doesn’t even make sense. If he’s the one showing up, shouldn’t he be the one staying away from you?”
“That’s what I said,” Elizabeth replied quietly.
Clara glanced at her. “And?”
“And he said I didn’t understand what I was getting into.”
That part stayed with her.
More than anything else.
Clara’s expression shifted again, more serious now. “Elizabeth… what if this isn’t just some random thing? What if it’s connected to something real?”
Elizabeth’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Like what?”
Clara hesitated, then lowered her voice. “You know this city isn’t as clean as it looks. My uncle talks about it all the time things happening behind closed doors. People disappearing. Deals no one questions.”
A faint unease settled deeper in Elizabeth’s chest.
She had heard things like that before.
Rumors.
Whispers.
But never anything concrete.
“You think he’s part of that?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Clara admitted. “But it doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”
Elizabeth didn’t respond immediately.
Because deep down…
She felt the same way.
That evening, as the car pulled into the gates of her home, Elizabeth noticed something unusual.
Security.
More than usual.
Men she didn’t recognize stood near the entrance, their expressions unreadable, their presence quiet but firm.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she stepped out of the car, her eyes lingering on them.
“Since when do we have this many guards?” she asked the driver.
He hesitated briefly. “New instructions, miss.”
“From my father?”
“Yes.”
Elizabeth nodded slowly, though the answer didn’t settle her.
If anything, it made the unease worse.
Later that night, she stood by her window again, her arms folded loosely as she stared out at the darkness.
The city lights stretched endlessly, beautiful and distant.
But tonight, it didn’t feel comforting.
It felt like something was hiding within it.
Her mind drifted back to Clara’s words.
People disappearing.
Things happening behind closed doors.
Her fingers tightened slightly against her arms.
“What are you involved in?” she whispered softly, though she wasn’t sure if she meant him… or something else entirely.
The air around her remained still.
Silent.
But the feeling was there again.
Faint.
Lingering.
Like something just beyond her reach.
Her breath slowed as she closed her eyes briefly.
“You said I should stay away,” she murmured. “But you’re the one who keeps coming back.”
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then
A quiet shift.
So subtle it could have been nothing.
But she felt it.
Her eyes opened slowly.
The room looked the same.
Empty.
Still.
And yet…
She knew.
He was there.
Somewhere.
Watching.
Waiting.
- Writer
