Chapter 10: A message from the unknown.
792 Words
Gregory stared at the message, his mind racing.
“If you’re still looking for her… stop searching in the wrong places.”
It didn’t make sense.
Or maybe… it did.
His grip tightened slightly around his phone as he read it again, slower this time, as if the meaning would shift depending on how carefully he looked.
Unknown number.
No name.
No explanation.
Just that one line.
His first instinct was suspicion.
Whoever sent it knew two things—he was looking for Skylar, and he hadn’t found her.
That wasn’t information just anyone would have.
Gregory typed quickly.
“Who is this?”
The reply came almost immediately.
“Someone who knows you’re running out of time.”
His expression hardened.
Running out of time?
For what?
Another message followed before he could respond.
“If you really want to find her, stop looking where she used to be. She’s not that person anymore.”
Gregory stood up slowly, his focus sharpening.
“Then where is she?” he typed.
This time, the response took longer.
Long enough to build tension.
“Ask yourself this—where would someone go… when they’re trying to forget everything?”
Gregory frowned slightly.
Forget everything.
That wasn’t a location.
It was a state of mind.
And suddenly, the search felt different.
Not about places.
But about her.
He sat back down, running a hand through his hair as he thought.
Skylar wasn’t impulsive.
She wouldn’t just leave without purpose.
If she disappeared, there was a reason.
A direction.
A decision.
He closed his eyes briefly, trying to focus—not on where she had been… but on who she was.
What did she want when things got overwhelming?
What did she always say?
Fragments of memory surfaced.
Her voice.
Soft. Thoughtful.
“If life ever gets too loud… I’d go somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one expects anything from me.”
Gregory’s eyes opened slowly.
Quiet.
Not just physically quiet.
Emotionally.
A place where she could breathe again.
His phone buzzed again.
“You’re thinking now. Good.”
Gregory didn’t reply immediately.
Instead, he typed something else.
“You know where she is.”
There was no response.
Not right away.
Minutes passed.
Then finally—
“I know where she was going.”
That was enough.
Gregory stood up again, his heart beating faster.
“Where?” he typed quickly.
This time, the answer came without delay.
“She mentioned a coastal town once. Said she wanted to disappear somewhere like that.”
A coastal town.
Gregory’s mind connected instantly.
He remembered it.
A conversation—casual at the time, but vivid now.
They had been sitting together, watching the water, and she had said it so simply.
“There’s something peaceful about the sea. It doesn’t ask questions. It just… lets you exist.”
He hadn’t thought much of it then.
But now—
It meant everything.
“Which town?” Gregory asked.
The reply came slower this time.
“That’s all I can give you.”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s not enough.”
“It has to be.”
A pause.
Then one final message appeared.
“If you really know her… you’ll find her.”
And just like that—
The conversation ended.
No reply.
No explanation.
The number went silent.
Gregory lowered his phone slowly, his thoughts moving faster than he could control.
A coastal town.
Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere she could start over.
It wasn’t much.
But it was more than he had before.
And for the first time since she left…
He felt something shift.
Not certainty.
But direction.
He didn’t go home that night.
Instead, he made calls.
Not to family.
Not to business contacts.
But to people who could help him find locations—transport routes, smaller towns along the coast, places people often overlooked.
It wasn’t his old life.
But he still knew how to get information when he needed it.
By morning, Gregory stood at the edge of a decision.
He didn’t know exactly where he was going.
Didn’t know how long it would take.
Didn’t even know if he would find her.
But he knew one thing.
He wasn’t stopping.
Not this time.
As he packed lightly once again, his movements were steady, focused.
There was no hesitation left.
Because this wasn’t about fixing a mistake anymore.
It was about proving something.
Not to her.
But to himself.
That when it mattered most…
He could choose.
Standing outside, the early morning air cool against his skin, Gregory took one last look at the city behind him.
Everything he had known.
Everything he had left.
And everything he had lost.
Then he turned.
And walked forward.
Toward the unknown.
Toward the sea.
Toward her.
- Writer
