Echoes Between Us
701 Words
It continues the theme that even when they aren't speaking, their feelings keep growing—and the city is beginning to notice.
The crowd swallowed her.
Gray uniforms.
Gray buildings.
Gray skies.
Within seconds...
She was gone.
I should have walked home.
That was the routine.
Leave school.
Keep your head down.
Avoid unnecessary conversation.
Arrive home before the evening announcements.
Repeat tomorrow.
Instead...
I stood there.
Watching the place where she had disappeared.
As if she might come back.
She didn't.
A cold breeze drifted through the nearly empty courtyard.
The loudspeakers crackled to life.
"Citizens are reminded that prolonged emotional attachment reduces individual productivity."
Nobody reacted.
Nobody even looked up.
It was just another announcement.
Just another sentence repeated so many times that people had stopped hearing it.
I wondered if that was how freedom disappeared.
Not all at once.
But little by little.
Until nobody remembered what it sounded like.
The walk home felt longer than usual.
Every street looked the same.
Concrete.
Steel.
Glass.
Every face carried the same empty expression.
Eyes forward.
Hands by their sides.
No laughter.
No arguments.
No children running ahead of their parents.
Even the wind felt controlled.
As I reached the intersection near the train station...
I noticed someone.
Standing across the road.
A man.
Dark gray coat.
Hands behind his back.
He wasn't crossing.
He wasn't waiting.
He was simply...
Watching.
I looked away for a second as traffic passed.
When I looked back...
He was gone.
I frowned.
Maybe I imagined him.
Maybe I was just tired.
I kept walking.
Halfway home...
I saw him again.
This time outside a small convenience store.
Same coat.
Same posture.
Same expressionless face.
He wasn't looking at the shelves.
He wasn't buying anything.
His eyes were fixed on me.
A bus passed between us.
Only for a moment.
When it moved...
The man had disappeared.
My heartbeat quickened.
That wasn't normal.
Nothing about today felt normal.
By the time I reached my apartment building...
The sky had turned almost black.
The city lights flickered on with mechanical precision.
Every apartment.
Every streetlight.
Every billboard.
Exactly the same second.
The city never made mistakes.
It couldn't afford to.
I stepped inside and locked the door behind me.
Only then did I realize...
My hands were shaking.
At exactly 10:17 p.m...
My phone vibrated.
I didn't need to look.
I already knew who it was.
Her.
Her: "Did you notice anything strange today?"
I stared at the screen.
Me: "What do you mean?"
The typing bubble appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
Her: "I think someone followed me after school."
A knot formed in my stomach.
Me: "Are you safe?"
Several seconds passed.
Long enough to make me wonder if she'd gone offline.
Then—
Her: "I think so."
Another pause.
Her: "Promise me something."
Me: "Anything."
The three dots blinked.
Slowly.
Almost nervously.
Her: "If anything happens..."
They disappeared.
Returned.
"...don't come looking for me."
I sat upright.
Me: "What are you talking about?"
No answer.
Only...
Seen 10:24 PM.
I waited.
Thirty seconds.
One minute.
Two.
Nothing.
I typed again.
Me: "Please answer."
Delivered.
Not seen.
The silence on the screen felt heavier than any words she'd ever sent.
Then...
Another notification appeared.
Not from her.
Unknown Number.
There was only one sentence.
"Some people are remembered.
Others are erased."
I frowned.
Before I could react...
The message vanished.
Not deleted.
Vanished.
As if it had never existed.
Confused, I opened my chat with her.
My breath caught.
The conversation...
Was empty.
Every message.
Every late-night confession.
Every joke.
Every awkward pause.
Gone.
Only her name remained at the top of the screen.
I blinked.
Refreshed the app.
Nothing changed.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Someone...
Or something...
Had erased our words.
But I still remembered every single one.
Then—
Three slow knocks echoed through my apartment.
Knock.
...
Knock.
...
Knock.
I froze.
No one visited after curfew.
No one.
A calm voice came through the door.
"We know you're awake."
Silence.
Then the voice spoke again.
"You've been talking to someone you were never supposed to meet."
My hand tightened around the phone.
Outside...
The doorknob began to turn.
- Writer
