My phone woke me at 3:33 a.m., with the message: Come outside. At first, I thought it was some kind of glitch, maybe a delayed text from a wrong number. The screen glowed in the dark room, painting long shadows across the walls, but I was too tired to care. I turned the phone face-down and pulled the blankets over my head. Still, something about the message lingered in my thoughts—its simplicity, its timing, its insistence. I brushed it off, telling myself that dreams and half-sleep often make harmless things feel eerie. Eventually, I drifted back to sleep, unaware that the message was only the beginning.
The next night, again at 3:33 a.m., the familiar chime snapped me awake. My phone vibrated against the nightstand, almost impatiently. This time, the message was identical: “Come outside.” A ripple of unease spread across my chest. I checked the door locks, the windows, everything I could control, yet the feeling wouldn’t go away. I considered blocking the number, but something stopped me—curiosity, perhaps, or the strange sense that the message wasn’t meant to frighten me at all. It felt more like a summons, as if whoever—or whatever—was sending it believed I had been expecting it. Unable to fall back asleep, I sat in the dark until sunrise, watching the shadows shrink as the sky turned gold.
On the third night, when the message arrived at the exact same time, I finally gave in. I slipped on my shoes, wrapped myself in a jacket, and stepped onto the porch. The air was unusually still, as if the world were holding its breath. My phone vibrated again, but this time the message was different: “Turn around.” My pulse quickened. I hesitated, staring into the quiet street lit only by a pale moon. A part of me wanted to retreat indoors and lock every door behind me, yet something deeper urged me to follow through. Slowly, I turned, expecting—hoping—not to find anything at all.
When I did, I saw myself. Or rather, a version of me—standing at the edge of the yard, illuminated by the moonlight like a reflection made solid. They weren’t threatening, just watching with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. Calm. Knowing. My phone buzzed once more. A new message appeared: “You left something behind.” The figure raised their hand and pointed toward the house. I looked back at the windows glowing faintly from inside and suddenly understood. For months I had ignored an ache inside me—a dream deferred, a part of myself I had abandoned in the rush of everyday life. When I looked again, the figure was gone, but the message remained. It wasn’t a warning. It was a reminder. And as I stepped back inside, the air felt lighter, as though some long-closed door within me had finally opened.