Chapter3
Martha couldn't focus.
The words on the board blurred. The teacher's voice faded into nothing.
Her fingers tightened around the note.
"You felt it too."
She had read it a hundred times already.
And every time—
that same feeling returned.
Like someone was watching her…
from very close.
"Hey," Luna whispered, nudging her. "You're zoning out again."
Martha hesitated, then slowly slid the note toward her.
"Read this."
Luna frowned and opened it.
A pause.
Then—
"What is this?" she asked.
Martha blinked. "What do you mean?"
"It's blank."
Martha's stomach dropped.
"No… look properly."
"I am looking," Luna said, turning the paper. "There's nothing here."
Martha snatched it back.
Her breath caught.
The words were gone.
Completely.
Just a plain piece of paper.
"That's not possible…" she whispered.
"You're scaring yourself," Luna said softly. "Maybe you imagined it."
Martha didn't respond.
Because she knew—
she hadn't.
The rest of the class felt wrong.
Too quiet. Too still.
Martha's eyes slowly drifted to the back of the room.
Where he had been sitting yesterday.
The seat was empty.
"Who sits there?" she asked suddenly.
Luna glanced back. "No one. That seat's always empty."
Martha's heart skipped.
"No… yesterday there was someone—"
"Martha," Luna interrupted, her voice serious now. "There was no one."
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
That afternoon—
Martha stood outside the administration office.
Her pulse was uneven.
"This is stupid…" she muttered.
Still—
she knocked.
"Come in."
The room smelled of old files and paper.
A middle-aged teacher looked up. "Yes?"
"I… wanted to ask something," Martha said.
"Go on."
She hesitated.
"Is there… a student named Noah?"
The teacher frowned slightly.
Then turned to the computer.
Typing.
Clicking.
A pause.
"No," he said.
"There's no one by that name in this school."
Martha felt the ground shift beneath her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," he replied firmly. "We don't have any student with that name."
She stepped out of the office slowly.
Her mind racing.
Then who was he…?
"Looking for something?"
The voice came from behind her.
Calm.
Familiar.
Martha froze.
Slowly—
she turned.
He stood there.
Just like before.
Calm. Composed.
As if he belonged.
"You—" her voice shook. "Who are you?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Does it matter?"
"It does!" she snapped. "No one knows you. You're not in the records—"
"That's because," he said softly,
"I'm not meant to be."
Her breath hitched.
"That's not possible…"
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Yet here I am."
Martha stepped back.
"You've been following me."
"Observing," he corrected.
"That's not normal!"
"Neither is noticing me," he said quietly.
That made her stop.
"What…?"
He stepped a little closer.
Not threatening.
Just enough.
"Most people don't see me," he said."They don't hear me. They don't remember me."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"But you did."
Martha's heart pounded violently.
"That doesn't make any sense…"
"It doesn't have to," he replied.
A pause.
Heavy.
Unreal.
"Why me?" she whispered.
For the first time—
his expression changed.
Just slightly.
Something darker.
Something… interested.
"I was wondering the same thing."
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
he stepped back.
"As much as I'd like to continue this…"
He glanced around briefly.
"…this isn't the right place."
And just like that—
he turned and walked away.
"Martha?"
Luna's voice suddenly came from behind.
She grabbed her arm.
"Who were you talking to?"
Martha turned back quickly.
The corridor was empty.
No one.
"He was right here—" she pointed, her voice shaking.
"There's no one," Luna said.
Martha looked down.
Her hand trembled.
Something was in it.
She didn't remember taking it.
A small piece of paper.
Folded.
Slowly—
she opened it.
This time, the words didn't disappear.
"Now I know… you can see me."
Martha's breath stopped.
And somewhere—
just out of sight—
he was watching.
with a mysterious smile on his face that gave peace to him