"You don't know me, but I know you," said the voice before the call was cut off.
And I froze, watching as my reflection in the store window smiled.
It wasn't just any smile. It wasn't nervous or forced. It was slow, calculated, as if it knew exactly what was happening. As if it knew who had called me.
My stomach twisted.
The cold night seeped into my bones, but the real chill came from somewhere else. From within. As if something had clicked in my head, and now reality was trying to adjust to a new order I didn’t yet understand.
The phone screen still lit up my trembling hand. I looked at the number. Unknown. I tried calling back.
Dead line.
The reflection in the window tilted its head, but I hadn't moved.
No.
This couldn't be happening again.
A sharp ringing filled my ears, as if my own brain was trying to protect me from a truth I wasn’t supposed to remember. I brought a hand to my head, gritted my teeth. I wanted to look away from the reflection.
But I couldn't.
Because now, the smile was gone.
And in its place, it looked at me with pity.
As if it already knew what was about to happen to me.
The phone vibrated in my hand. A message.
Ecency - New post: @akrros, time is running out.
I tapped the notification with clumsy fingers, and the post loaded on the screen.
A video.
The title was my own name.
I swallowed hard and hit play.
The first second was static chaos. Then, the image stabilized.
And I saw it.
Me.
Myself, sitting in a dark room. Bloodshot eyes, deep sunken shadows under them, sickly skin. Breathing fast, ragged.
"You don’t have time."
My own voice.
I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
"If you're watching this… it's already too late."
My pulse hammered in my temples.
"You weren’t supposed to remember. You weren’t supposed to search."
The me in the video ran a trembling hand over his face. He looked on the verge of collapse.
"There’s something you don’t know. Something you forgot… or something they made you forget."
A noise in the bookstore snapped me out of my trance.
Something had moved inside.
My reflection in the window was no longer smiling. Now, it was staring at me.
In the video, my other self leaned toward the camera, desperate.
"Don’t trust anyone. Not even yourself."
A loud thud echoed inside the bookstore.
I spun around.
My heart pounded in my throat. The store was dark, but… something was inside. A silhouette.
My phone vibrated again.
Another message on Ecency.
"Too late. He's already here."
Then, the streetlight flickered and went out.
And from the darkness of the bookstore, someone stepped out.
It was me.
But it wasn’t me.
And he was smiling.
🇪🇸 • Language Original
"TĂş no me conoces, pero yo te conozco", dijo la voz antes de que se cortara la llamada.
Y me quedĂ© helado, viendo cĂłmo mi reflejo en la vidriera sonreĂa.
No era una sonrisa cualquiera. No era nerviosa ni forzada. Era una sonrisa lenta, calculada, como si supiera exactamente lo que estaba pasando. Como si supiera quiĂ©n me habĂa llamado.
Mi estĂłmago se revolviĂł.
El frĂo de la noche me calaba los huesos, pero el verdadero escalofrĂo venĂa de otra parte. De dentro. Como si algo hubiera hecho clic en mi cabeza y ahora la realidad estuviera tratando de ajustarse a un nuevo orden que yo aĂşn no entendĂa.
La pantalla del telĂ©fono seguĂa iluminando mi mano temblorosa. MirĂ© el nĂşmero. Desconocido. IntentĂ© llamar de vuelta.
LĂnea muerta.
El reflejo en la vidriera inclinĂł la cabeza, pero yo no me habĂa movido.
No.
No podĂa estar pasando otra vez.
Un zumbido agudo llenĂł mis oĂdos, como si mi propio cerebro intentara protegerme de una verdad que no debĂa recordar. Me llevĂ© una mano a la cabeza, apretĂ© los dientes. QuerĂa dejar de mirar el reflejo.
Pero no podĂa.
Porque ahora su sonrisa se habĂa borrado.
Y en su lugar, me observaba con una expresión de lástima.
Como si Ă©l ya supiera lo que iba a pasarme.
El teléfono vibró en mi mano. Un mensaje.
Ecency - Nueva publicaciĂłn: @akrros, el tiempo se acaba.
Toqué la notificación con dedos torpes y el post se cargó en la pantalla.
Un video.
El tĂtulo era mi propio nombre.
Tragué saliva y le di play.
El primer segundo fue un caos de estática. Luego, la imagen se estabilizó.
Y lo vi.
Yo.
Yo mismo, sentado en una habitación oscura. Los ojos enrojecidos, las ojeras hundidas, la piel enfermiza. Respiraba rápido, agitado.
No tienes tiempo.
Mi propia voz.
Quise apartar la mirada, pero no pude.
Si estás viendo esto… ya es demasiado tarde.
Mi pulso martilleaba en mis sienes.
No debiste recordar. No debiste buscar.
El yo del video pasĂł una mano temblorosa por su rostro. Se veĂa al borde del colapso.
Hay algo que no sabes. Algo que olvidaste… o algo que te hicieron olvidar.
Un ruido en la librerĂa me sacĂł del trance.
Algo se habĂa movido dentro.
Mi reflejo en la vidriera ya no estaba sonriendo. Ahora me miraba fijamente.
En el video, mi otro yo se inclinó hacia la cámara, desesperado.
No confĂes en nadie. Ni siquiera en ti mismo.
Un golpe seco retumbĂł dentro de la librerĂa.
Me giré de golpe.
El corazĂłn me latĂa en la garganta. El local estaba oscuro, pero… habĂa algo ahĂ dentro. Una silueta.
Mi teléfono vibró de nuevo.
Un nuevo mensaje en Ecency.
"Demasiado tarde. Él ya está aquĂ."
Entonces, la luz de la calle parpadeĂł y se apagĂł.
Y desde la negrura de la librerĂa, alguien saliĂł caminando.
Era yo.
Pero no era yo.
Y Ă©l sĂ estaba sonriendo.
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