The next few days felt… normal.
Too normal.
Talking to Mira had slowly become part of my routine.
Not in a loud, exciting way.
But in a quiet, constant one.
I didn't check my phone out of habit anymore.
I checked it for her.
"you're awake early today"
"miracles happen"
"clearly"
"don't get used to it"
"too late"
Simple conversations.
But they meant more than they should.
Calls got longer.
Silences got easier.
And sometimes…
we didn't even need to talk.
"what are you thinking about?" she asked one night.
I stared at the ceiling.
"nothing"
"liar"
I smiled a little.
"you?"
There was a pause.
Longer than usual.
"…too many things"
I turned to my side.
"like?"
Another pause.
This one felt different.
"…you wouldn't get it"
I frowned slightly.
"try me"
"No… it's okay"
Something about that stayed with me.
Not wrong.
Just… unfinished.
The next day, things felt off.
Not drastically.
Just enough to notice.
Her replies were slower.
Shorter.
Less… her.
"busy?" I texted.
"a little"
That was it.
No teasing.
No extra words.
I stared at the screen longer than I should have.
Maybe I was overthinking.
But that night—
everything changed.
"I think we need to talk."
That sentence never means anything good.
"yeah… what happened?"
"Have you been completely honest with me?"
I stared at it.
"of course. why?"
"Then explain this."
An image appeared.
A screenshot.
A chat.
Not ours.
Username: M_17
"You forgot again, didn't you?"
"Stop saying that."
"You promised you wouldn't."
"I… I don't remember this."
"So?"
"I don't know what that is."
"You really don't remember… do you?"
"What am I supposed to remember?"
No reply.
My phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
Something about it felt… off.
Not random.
"You finally noticed."
"Who is this?"
"You already know me, Aarav."
"No, I don't. Stop playing around."
"Or maybe… you just chose to forget."
"What do you want?"
"Just the truth."
A file appeared.
Truth.mp4
I stared at it.
"Mira… what is this?"
"Watch it."
"Please."
It didn't feel like a request.
It felt like a last chance.
I pressed play.
The video started.
A café.
Me.
A girl sitting across me.
"You've been different lately," she said quietly.
"Always on your phone… smiling at something you won't even show me."
"I told you… it's not like that anymore."
"You said that last time too, Aarav."
"You keep coming back like nothing happened."
"I'm trying, okay?"
"Trying what? To not hurt me… or to not feel guilty?"
Silence.
Then—
"Does she know about me?"
The video ended.
Silence.
"I watched it."
"And?"
"I didn't know."
"But you did it."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
"I'm still the same person."
"No, Aarav."
"That's what scares me."
She went offline.
And for the first time—
I didn't know if she would come back.