Love in Dystopia

Late Night Texts

The three little dots blinked on the screen.

Disappeared.

Then returned.

I found myself staring at them longer than I should have.

It was strange.

I had spent years fearing drones, cameras, and officers.

Yet somehow...

Waiting for a reply from one girl made my heart race even faster.

Finally, her message appeared.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it."

Another pause.

The dots returned.

"And... thank you for today."

I frowned.

"For what?"

Her reply came almost instantly.

"For treating me like a person."

I read the sentence twice.

Then a third time.

Something about it hurt.

In Dystopia, people greeted each other because they were required to.

They smiled because cameras demanded it.

They spoke because silence looked suspicious.

Kindness wasn't real.

It was programmed.

So hearing someone thank me for something as simple as treating her like a person...

It made me wonder how lonely she had been.

I typed carefully.

"Isn't that normal?"

She took longer to answer this time.

When the message finally arrived, it was only one sentence.

"Not here."

I leaned back in my chair.

Outside, rain tapped softly against the apartment window.

The city lights reflected on the wet streets like broken stars.

For the first time...

Dystopia didn't feel completely empty.

There was someone else awake.

Someone else who saw the city the way I did.

Before I could think of what to say next, another message appeared.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

The typing bubble appeared.

Stopped.

Appeared again.

Whatever she wanted to ask...

She was nervous.

Finally, she sent it.

"When you looked at me today... why didn't you report me?"

I smiled without realizing it.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Then I answered honestly.

"Because something about you felt different."

No reply.

Just the three dots.

Then they vanished.

A full minute passed.

I wondered if I had said the wrong thing.

Then my phone vibrated.

"Different... good or bad?"

I chuckled quietly.

It was such an ordinary question.

Yet in a city where ordinary conversations barely existed...

It felt priceless.

I typed slowly.

"Good."

Another vibration.

"How good?"

I stared at the screen.

A hundred answers came to mind.

None of them felt safe.

None of them felt enough.

So I settled for the truth.

"Good enough that I'm smiling."

The message showed as delivered.

Then...

Read.

Silence.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Twenty.

I was about to put my phone down when it buzzed again.

"Then I'm smiling too."

I couldn't explain why...

But those four words warmed the room more than the heater ever could.

Outside, the rain continued to fall over a city that had forgotten how to love.

Inside two tiny apartments, separated by streets, cameras, and fear...

Two strangers smiled at the same time.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But that simple conversation...

Would become the beginning of a revolution.

She didn't send another message.

Not immediately.

I waited anyway.

Sometimes the silence between two people said more than words ever could.

I placed my phone on the pillow beside me.

Just as I closed my eyes...

It buzzed.

My heart betrayed me again.

"Can I tell you something?"

A smile crept onto my face.

"You just did."

Three dots appeared.

Then disappeared.

Then returned.

"You're funny."

I laughed quietly.

Not loudly enough for the neighbors to hear.

Just enough to surprise myself.

I couldn't remember the last time I laughed because of someone else.

"Is that a compliment?"

This time she replied immediately.

"Maybe."

I stared at the screen.

Maybe.

In Dystopia, nobody used words like maybe.

Everything had to be certain.

Approved.

Measured.

There was no room for uncertainty.

Yet somehow...

That one word felt more genuine than every government speech I'd ever heard.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She reacted with a tiny smiling emoji.

I blinked.

An emoji.

I hadn't seen one used in years.

People stopped using them after the Ministry classified them as "unnecessary emotional symbols."

Seeing one now felt strangely rebellious.

"You still use emojis?" I typed.

A few seconds passed.

"Only with people I feel safe talking to."

I read that message twice.

Then locked my phone without replying.

Not because I didn't know what to say.

Because I wanted to hold onto the feeling before I ruined it with the wrong words.

Outside, another patrol drone drifted past my apartment window.

Its spotlight swept across the glass before moving on.

I watched it disappear into the night.

Then unlocked my phone again.

"I'm glad you feel safe talking to me."

The message was delivered.

Read almost instantly.

No reply came.

Just the words...

Seen 11:48 PM.

A minute later, another notification appeared.

"Goodnight."

Another pause.

"Don't let Dystopia steal your smile tomorrow."

I looked out the window again.

The city hadn't changed.

The buildings were still gray.

The streets were still empty.

The drones still watched from above.

But somehow...

It didn't feel as hopeless as it had yesterday.

Because somewhere beneath the same gray sky...

There was one person hoping I smiled tomorrow.

And for the first time in a very long time...

I hoped the same for her.