Alex sat frozen, staring at his phone.
?? Unknown Number: You remember.
And then—just like that—the message vanished.
No contact name. No history. Like it had never been there at all.
His heart pounded. He swore he heard something—a whisper just at the edge of his hearing.
Am I losing it?
He exhaled sharply, locking his phone and shoving it onto his nightstand. He needed sleep.
Maybe it was stress.
Maybe he was overthinking.
Or maybe… something was very, very wrong.
The next day, Alex didn’t tell Jason or Camilla about the message.
But Maya—Maya knew something.
So when she texted him to meet her alone, he didn’t hesitate.
?? Maya: Meet me at Willow Creek. Don’t tell the others.
?? Alex: Okay. What’s going on?
?? Maya: Just come. It’s important.
Alex grabbed his jacket and headed out.
Maya was already there when he arrived, standing near the water’s edge, her notebook clutched to her chest.
She didn’t turn when he approached.
“How much do you remember?” she asked quietly.
Alex frowned. “What do you mean?”
Maya finally looked at him. “Joe’s store. You remember it, don’t you?”
His stomach dropped. “…Yeah.”
Maya let out a breath, almost relieved.
“I thought I was the only one.”
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Alex stared at her. “Wait—you remember too?”
She nodded. “And it’s not just Joe’s store, Alex. I’ve been writing things—things that shouldn’t be real. And then, they happen.”
She flipped open her notebook, showing him a page.
It was a description of Joe’s store. The way it used to be. The way Alex remembered it.
But at the bottom of the page, three words were scribbled out violently.
“Erased from existence.”
A chill ran through him. “Maya, what is this?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But whatever it is… it’s not just us. Others are disappearing too.”
Alex’s pulse raced. “You mean people?”
Maya swallowed. “I think… I think we’re next.”
lex felt his heart hammer in his chest.
"What do you mean, we’re next?"
Maya hesitated, flipping through her notebook. The pages were filled with frantic scribbles, half-finished sentences, and things that shouldn’t be real.
She finally turned the book around and pointed to a page.
It was a list of names.
Alex scanned them—familiar ones. People from their town.
Except… something was wrong.
Some names were crossed out. The ink bled deep into the paper, as if Maya had tried to scratch them out of existence.
And next to the crossed-out names, there were gaps. Blank spaces, like something was supposed to be written there—but wasn’t.
Alex’s stomach twisted. “These are people we know.”
Maya nodded. “People who aren’t here anymore.”
Alex’s breath caught. “They disappeared?”
Maya swallowed. “No. It’s worse than that.”
She turned to another page.
It was filled with descriptions of people, their faces, their voices, their favorite places in town.
Alex’s eyes widened.
Because as he read, he realized—he didn’t recognize some of them.
Names that felt like they should be familiar… but weren’t.
People he should remember.
People who had been erased.
His blood ran cold.
Maya snapped the book shut. “They’re not just disappearing, Alex. They’re being erased from reality. Like they never existed.”
They sat on a fallen tree trunk near Willow Creek, the quiet hum of the water filling the silence.
Alex tried to process it all.
People were vanishing. Not just physically—but from memory. From existence.
And for some reason, he and Maya still remembered them.
Why?
Maya tapped her fingers against the cover of her notebook, deep in thought.
Then she looked up. “We need to test something.”
She pulled out a pen and flipped to a fresh page.
“Name someone,” she said.
Alex hesitated. “…Mrs. Alder.”
The old librarian. He remembered her well. She always scolded Jason for bringing food into the library.
Maya nodded, writing it down.
MRS. ALDER.
They stared at the name. It sat there, simple, ink pressed into paper.
Alex exhaled. “Okay. Now what?”
Maya closed the notebook and tucked it into her bag. “Now we wait.”