Looking for Something That Answers Back
Mara wakes up already uneasy.
Not from sleep.
From everything that came before it.
Elena is missing.
That thought doesn't land cleanly anymore.
It just lingers.
Mara checks her phone immediately.
Still nothing.
No calls.
No messages.
No Elena.
She stares at it longer than she needs to.
Like it might change if she waits.
It doesn't.
The dream tries to return again.
Elena's voice.
Too close.
Too real.
Mara shuts her eyes briefly.
"No."
Not now.
She gets dressed quickly and leaves the house.
No hesitation.
Just movement.
Because stillness feels worse.
Outside, everything looks normal.
That's the problem.
Nothing reflects what's missing.
Mara walks without direction at first.
Then remembers someone.
One of Elena's classmates.
Someone who might know recent details.
She changes direction.
The walk feels longer than it should.
Her thoughts keep splitting—what she remembers, and what she dreamed.
Neither feels fully stable anymore.
When she arrives, she knocks.
The door opens.
A girl stands there.
She pauses when she sees Mara.
"Mara…"
Mara nods.
"Yes."
A brief look passes over the girl's face.
Recognition.
Then something uncertain.
"You're Elena's sister."
Mara doesn't correct her.
Just nods again.
"They said you weren't answering," the girl says.
Mara stiffens slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"The police came again."
That makes her still.
"They're still asking about the night she disappeared."
Mara's breath catches.
"Disappeared…"
The word sits heavier than it should.
The girl watches her carefully now.
"And they asked about you too."
Mara goes quiet.
"What did you tell them?"
A pause.
Then—
"I told them I haven't seen you since it happened."
Silence.
Mara shakes her head slightly.
"That's not right."
But even as she says it, her voice doesn't sound fully anchored.
The girl looks uncomfortable now.
Like she's unsure whether she should say more.
"I think you should talk to them," she says quietly.
Mara nods once.
Turns away.
As she walks back down the street, something in her chest tightens—not panic exactly.
More like imbalance.
Because Elena was always the one people remembered cleanly.
And Mara was always the one people weren't fully sure about.
Now that difference feels dangerous.
Because if Elena is gone…
then Mara is the only version of the story left that can still be questioned.