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Chapter 17 - The Space Beside My Phone

You still cross my mind while i work.

It happens in the quiet moments,

when my screen glows with unfinished tasks

and my fingers move mechanically

over the keyboard.

Somewhere between one sentence

and another,

you slip in,

a thought i never invite,

but never have the heart to chase away.

I used to work with my phone beside me,

its light pulsing softly like a heartbeat,

half my focus on deadlines,

the other half waiting for your name to appear.

You'd send something simple,

a "hi," a joke,

a question that didn't matter,

but somehow did.

And suddenly,

the day would feel lighter.

Even the heaviest hours

became easier to survive,

because somewhere out there,

you were thinking of me too.

But now, it's different.

My phone stays still

cold, silent.

Sometimes i glance at it,

pretending i'm just checking the time,

but really, I'm waiting.

For a notification that never comes,

for a name that no longer appears.

I still wonder what you're doing,

if your days are as quiet as mine.

Are you also lost in your own world,

trying to fix the pieces

that no one else can see?

Do you ever think of me

in the middle of a song,

a memory,

a passing breath?

Sometimes, I imagine you'll message again.

Maybe out of habit.

Maybe out of longing.

Maybe because some part of you

still misses the calm we found

in each other.

Maybe you'll say, "Hey, can we talk?"

And even though i've sworn

not to hope,

a small part of me still whispers,

"Maybe."

I know i shouldn't wait,

but i still do.

Not because i'm weak,

but because what we had

feels unfinished —

like a sentence cut too soon,

a song that stopped

before its final line.

So here i am,

writing again,

because words are the only way

I can still speak to you.

Even if you'll never read them.

Even if you've already moved on.

Maybe someday,

I'll stop checking my phone,

stop searching for your name

in every quiet hour of the day.

But for now,

this is where you still exist

in the space beside my phone,

and in the heartbeat

that refuses to forget.

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