Chapter 8: Someone Is Watching
287 Words
Lina didn’t trust her phone anymore.
She kept it in her bag, zipped up, like that could stop it from speaking to her.
But even without looking at it, she could feel it.
Like it was alive.
Like it was waiting.
She left the café quickly after the photo.
Her heart was still racing.
The image wouldn’t leave her mind.
A figure at the bridge.
Watching.
Not Maya.
Not her.
Someone else.
Lina walked faster through the streets, trying to calm herself.
But then she noticed something strange.
A reflection in a shop window.
She slowed down.
Looked again.
Nothing behind her.
Only empty street.
But when she kept walking, she felt it again.
That feeling.
Being followed.
She stopped suddenly.
Turned around.
Nothing.
Just people walking normally.
A man on his phone.
A woman carrying shopping bags.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Lina’s breathing became uneven.
“No one is there,” she told herself. “No one is following you.”
But her body didn’t believe her.
That night, she locked every door in her house.
Checked every window twice.
Even pulled the curtains fully shut.
Then she sat on her bed, staring at the wall.
Waiting for something to happen.
Her phone buzzed.
She didn’t move.
Buzz again.
She closed her eyes.
Buzz again.
Finally, she reached for it slowly.
Unknown Number.
One message.
"You looked right at me today."
Lina’s hands went cold.
“No…” she whispered. “That’s not possible.”
Another message appeared immediately.
"I didn’t hide well enough this time."
Lina stood up so fast the phone almost slipped.
She turned toward her window.
Her curtain moved slightly.
Just once.
Like someone had been standing outside.
And then gone.
- Writer
