I didn't feel the same after that day.
Something had changed.
Not around me.
Inside me.
The rest of the classes passed like a blur.
I sat there, staring at the board, pretending to listen.
But nothing stayed.
Nothing made sense.
Every word faded the moment I heard it.
Because my mind wasn't there.
It was stuck somewhere else.
With him.
My fingers brushed lightly against my wrist.
The mark was still there
hidden beneath my sleeve.
But I could feel it.
Constantly.
Like a quiet pulse that didn't belong to me.
"You shouldn't have come."
"You're not supposed to remember me."
The words echoed in my head again.
Over and over.
Remember?
What was I supposed to remember?
I had never seen him before.
At least… that's what I told myself.
The final bell rang.
Students rushed out.
Voices filled the corridors again
laughter, conversations, movement.
Everything felt normal.
Except me.
I walked out slowly.
Without thinking.
Without planning.
Just… moving.
And somehow
I found myself standing in the same corridor.
The same place.
Where I had seen him.
My steps slowed.
My breath grew quieter.
Why am I here again…?
The corridor was almost empty now.
Only distant sounds remained.
Everything else felt still.
Too still.
And then
I felt it.
That pull.
Stronger than before.
My heartbeat quickened instantly.
My fingers curled slightly.
My wrist burned.
Not painfully this time
but intensely.
Like something inside it was waking up.
"He's here…" I whispered.
I turned quickly.
Almost desperately.
Nothing.
The corridor was empty.
My chest tightened.
No.
He was here.
I could feel it.
I knew it.
"Stop hiding…" I whispered.
Silence.
For a moment
I thought maybe I was imagining everything.
That I had finally lost control.
And then
my wrist burned again.
Slow.
Deep.
Like something was responding.
My breath grew uneven.
"Why does it feel like you're right here…?"
I didn't expect an answer.
But I got one.
A voice.
Soft.
Close.
Too close.
"Because I am."
My heart stopped.
I turned instantly
Nothing.
No one.
Just silence.
My fingers trembled.
My chest rose and fell too fast.
"Where are you…?" I whispered.
A pause.
And then
"Not where you can reach me."
A chill ran down my spine.
My hand tightened around my wrist.
"Then why can I feel you?"
My voice broke slightly.
Silence again.
Longer this time.
And when he spoke
it was softer.
Almost… sad.
"Because you never stopped."
My breath hitched.
"What does that mean…?"
No answer.
Only silence.
But something inside me shifted.
My head started spinning.
The corridor blurred around me.
My heartbeat grew louder.
Too loud.
Too fast.
My vision darkened at the edges.
My fingers tightened around my wrist as the mark burned again
stronger.
Almost unbearable.
"I… can't…"
My voice came out weak.
The ground beneath me felt unstable.
And for a second
I felt it again.
That presence.
Closer than ever.
Like someone was right there.
Right in front of me.
Or maybe…
right behind me.
Warm.
Familiar.
Safe.
My breath slowed slightly.
Like I wasn't falling anymore.
Like someone was holding me.
And then
everything went dark.
The first thing I felt…
was silence.
Not the heavy silence from before.
A softer one.
My eyelids felt heavy.
Slowly…
I opened my eyes.
My room.
The same ceiling.
The same walls.
I was home.
My breath caught.
"How…?"
I pushed myself up slowly, my head still spinning.
I didn't remember coming back.
I didn't remember leaving college.
The last thing I remembered
was him.
My hand moved instantly to my wrist.
The mark was still there.
Faint.
But warm.
Like it hadn't faded.
Like it hadn't forgotten.
Like he hadn't.
My chest tightened.
"Because you never stopped…"
I whispered the words again.
What was I supposed to remember?
And why did it feel like
a part of me already knew?
My eyes kept searching for him
even when I knew he wasn't there.
My heart refused to calm down,
caught somewhere between fear…
and something I didn't understand.
And still
one question refused to leave me.
Who was he?
I had heard him.
I had felt him.
And yet
I still had no answer.
But something felt different now.
Like this wasn't the beginning.
Like I was already in the middle of something
I didn't remember starting.
My fingers tightened around my wrist.
The mark pulsed once.
And for a second
I felt it again.
Not a memory.
Not a dream.
Something real.
And then
a thought crossed my mind…
so suddenly…
it didn't feel like mine.
What if…
I wasn't the one trying to find him?
What if…
"He was the one who had already found me"?