I played with my phone, scrolling through my IG account. I felt bored, so I checked the feed. It was full of quotes well, of course, since that's the only thing I follow on this account. I've kind of gotten the gist of how the algorithm works in this app.
I kept scrolling...doom-scrolling, I may say until one post caught my eye. The background was dark, pitch black, yet it looked exactly like the scenery I saw the other night. How in the world did someone have a picture of it? That was… peculiar. I didn't recall anyone being there with me or was I hallucinating?
The view was splendid, but how did they get the exact same angle the same trees, the same alignment of clouds? Erin lived far from the city, where her neighbors were spaced miles apart. She loved the peace and quiet away from the bustling streets. But still, who could've taken the exact same photo one that could've only been captured from the balcony of her room?
I took a closer look to confirm I wasn't going senile, and then I read the quote:
"If you don't let your past die, then it won't let you live."
It somehow felt so relatable to what was happening to me. Somehow, it made me realize that if I kept clinging to my past, it might kill me in the future.
I wondered who the person behind it was. He or she made me want to know more, for some reason. I, for one, knew it wasn't Fei in disguise. Some invisible force seemed to be drawing me towards that person. Where did they even get that photo? To satisfy my curiosity, I decided to stalk their account.
Not a good look for someone who just got into social media but hey, Fei was my teacher, and this counted as part of her lessons!
"D.A." that was the username. The profile picture showed the person's side profile, and it looked like a he, though I couldn't see his face clearly. His account was full of relatable and inspiring quotes, so I followed him. I couldn't help but feel curious about that one photo, so I decided to text him. (I don't usually talk to strangers, but I was too curious this time.)
Thankfully, as if fate was on my side, he was online.
"Hey, I want to ask you something. Where did you get the picture for your quote — 'If you don't let your past die, then it won't let you live?'"
I could see him typing. I waited for over five minutes before it stopped. He didn't reply. He just left me on seen!
Maybe he didn't want to talk to strangers, but I was just asking! Why type so long if you're not even going to answer!?
I became anxious.I started stalking his account more and found a picture of a café.
"zè café."
That was all he wrote, but his mistake was tagging the location. Maybe it was to promote his café or maybe he just wasn't cautious. I grinned. What I did next was beyond expectation. I didn't know what I was thinking. I must've been crazy! It was impulsive! Leaving the hospital has really driven me crazy!
I bought a ticket to Helios, a place across the continent, far from here. I was so thankful Fei had taught me how to buy one online. She told me that six months was a long time, so I might as well go traveling. I used to go on work trips across hospitals, but all those expenses were paid for I'd never done it on my own before.
Though I hadn't planned to go anywhere, I didn't mind an adventure once in a while. And that's exactly what I did, I bought a ticket to Helios on impulse, a twelve-hour journey away. Damn, it was tiring. But for all I cared, I needed an explanation why did he leave me on seen, and why was it so hard to reply?
(I mean, if he didn't want to, he shouldn't have started typing and left me hanging!)
No wonder I'd never had social media or a relationship, for that matter. I got ghosted once and immediately decided to throw hands. But his silence wasn't the only reason I went. It felt like something someone was pulling me there. A force beyond reason whispering, Go!.
For once in my life, I felt like this was a wise decision. Although I didn't know why, I had a good feeling about it. I didn't even know the guy!
It was 8 a.m., still early. I packed my things and stuffed everything I needed into my backpack. Guess that's all I needed. I didn't plan to stay long anyway just a short trip.
---
Later that day… (12 hours later)
I arrived in Helios after a few transits. It was 3 a.m. back home, but here it was noon. As I walked out through the gates, I hailed a taxi and opened my phone. After turning off airplane mode, I went back to Instagram.
I showed the driver the café's location and said, "Please take me here."
He frowned, then smiled kindly. "This will be a long journey, Miss. It'll take at least three hours. You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," I replied as he started the car.
Even if the journey had taken three days, I'd still be willing to sacrifice that much to find an answer. I slept through most of the drive, and when I woke up, we had arrived. I paid the old man and stepped out to look at the café.
"It looks exactly like the picture… but how am I supposed to find him now? I don't even know his name. And now I'm standing in the middle of nowhere, all alone…"
I sighed but not long after, I saw a familiar silhouette. A guy wearing boss-type glasses. I tried to get a better look as he climbed a ladder to fix the ceiling fan.
"It's you!" I shouted.
He looked at me, startled and to my surprise, started running.
I immediately chased after him.
He was fast his long legs were an advantage and in the end, I lost him. But then, I heard a voice whisper in my head
"Turn right. He's hiding in the bush."
I followed the voice's command and found a group of men eating nearby. For some reason, I knew they were his friends. I didn't know how I just felt it.
"Hey, it's nice to see you," I greeted him casually.
Then I walked further and saw him again, panting. He looked exhausted, one hand on his chest.
"How did you even catch me? How did you even know I was here?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Isn't it obvious? My intuition led me to you," I said with a wicked smile.
---
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The alarm rang, and I woke up.
"That was all a dream?" I muttered. "But it felt so real… What happened next? Who was he? Does he even exist?"
I sighed and threw my pillow aside.
"Damn you, alarm clock… I was so close."
I sat there for a while, staring blankly at my phone screen, the glow reflecting faintly in my half open eyes. The quote was still there, the same post, the same picture but this time, the username was gone. It just… vanished. My heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was a glitch, maybe I was still dreaming.