CHAPTER FIVE — THE MEMORY SHE LOST

Elaris stared at her phone.“He’s telling you the truth.”Then the second message appeared.“But he’s not telling you everything.”Her fingers tightened around the phone.She slowly looked up at the stranger.“You know about my future self.”The man's expression remained frozen.Her mother immediately stepped between them.“Elaris, give me the phone.”“No.”“Please.”“No, Mum.”For the first time, Elaris could hear the fear in her mother's voice.Not anger.Not annoyance.Fear.The stranger looked at Elaris.“You shouldn't have received that message.”Elaris frowned.“Why?”“Because whoever is sending those messages knows things they shouldn't know.”Elaris's stomach dropped.“You mean my future self?”The man didn't answer.Her phone vibrated again.Everyone looked at it.Another message.“ASK HIM WHO WAS WITH YOU WHEN YOU CAME BACK.”Elaris slowly raised her eyes.“Who was with me?”The stranger looked at her mother.Her mother shook her head.“Don't.”Elaris's voice became firmer.“Who was with me?”The stranger finally spoke.“Daniel.”Elaris froze.“Daniel?”The name hit her strangely.She knew Daniel.At least, she thought she did.Daniel had been her best friend for years.The person she trusted more than almost anyone.But suddenly, the photograph from five years ago came back into her mind.Young Elaris.Daniel beside her.September 14th.Five years ago.She looked at the photograph again.“Why was Daniel with me?”The stranger swallowed.“Because he was the last person to see you before you disappeared.”Silence filled the room.Elaris felt dizzy.“Then where did I go?”The man looked away.“We don't know.”“You don't know?”“We searched everywhere.”“For three days?”He nodded.“And when I came back?”The man's expression changed.“You didn't come back alone.”Elaris stared at him.“What does that mean?”Before he could answer, her mother suddenly grabbed the photograph from Elaris's hand.“That's enough.”“No!” Elaris shouted.Her mother flinched.Elaris had never spoken to her like that before.“You've lied to me.”Tears rolled down her mother's cheeks.“I was trying to protect you.”“From what?”Her mother couldn't answer.Elaris looked at the stranger.“Tell me the truth.”He hesitated.Then he said quietly,“After you disappeared, you came back with a message.”Elaris's heart stopped.“What message?”The stranger looked directly into her eyes.“You told us that one day…”He paused.“…your future self would come looking for you.”Elaris's phone slipped from her hand.It landed on the floor.The screen lit up.A final message appeared.“NOW YOU KNOW WHY I WARNED YOU.”Elaris stared at the words.Then another message appeared.“DON'T TRUST DANIEL.”Her eyes widened.Daniel.Her best friend.The person she had trusted for years.She slowly picked up her phone.Then she noticed something she hadn't seen before.The number sending the messages wasn't completely unknown anymore.There were four digits displayed beneath the message.Digits she recognized.Her birthday.Elaris's face went pale.Someone had been using her own birthday as the code to reach her.And suddenly, she realized the most terrifying part.Maybe the messages weren't coming from the future.Maybe someone in the present had been pretending to be her future self.She looked at the stranger.“Who are you?”The man took a slow breath.“My name is Adrian.”“And how do you know me?”Adrian stared at her for several seconds.Then he said,“Because five years ago, I was there when you disappeared.”Elaris's heart pounded.“Where?”Adrian's eyes filled with fear.“At the place where you first met your future self.”TO BE CONTINUED…

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