Morning came too quickly.
Alaine slowly opened her eyes, her vision coming into contact with the pale light slipping through the beige curtains. For a few seconds, she stayed still, hoping the strange heaviness from the night before had disappeared.
It hadn’t.
She exhaled quietly, blinked, then reached for her phone.
Three unread messages.
One from her friend, Elsie.
You disappeared early yesterday 😂 You okay?
Another from her cousin.
We are still on for dinner Sunday?
And one she hadn’t expected.
Unknown number.
Sometimes silence speaks more than words.
Alaine frowned and sat up straighter, reading the message again.
No name. No explanation.
Just those words.
A strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
Probably a wrong number, she thought quickly.
Still, she didn’t delete it.
***
The rest of the morning was just a blur.
Music played softly from her speaker as she got dressed, which was unusual, as she liked the blaring, throbbing of her LG speakers, but even her favourite songs felt distant. She stood in front of the mirror longer than usual, adjusting her clothes, fixing her hair, trying to convince herself she looked normal.
Fine.
Okay.
Like someone who had slept peacefully and definitely hadn’t questioned her entire life the night before.
“Alaine, you’re being dramatic,” she muttered under her breath.
But even that sounded forced.
***
Outside, the usual happened.
People fast-paced.
Discotheque music from matatus.
Street vendors outshining each other in shouting matches as they tried to attract passing strangers.
Life continued whether someone was struggling quietly or not.
Alaine walked carefully through the crowd, clutching her bag close to her.
Normally, she liked busy places as noise energized her.
But today, everything felt exhausting.
Even smiling at people felt like work.
***
“Alaine!”
She turned at the sound of her name and spotted Elsie hurrying toward her with her usual sunny self, her coffee in hand.
“There you are,” Elsie said. “You left so fast yesterday.”
She squeezed, a smile, “I was tired.”
Elsie narrowed her eyes slightly. “You’ve said that three times since last week.”
Alaine forced a laugh. “Maybe I actually am tired.”
“Mm-hm.”
They started walking together.
“You sure nothing’s wrong?” Elsie asked after a moment, a tard worried.
There it was again.
That question.
The one that irritated Alaine because she never knew how to answer it.
What was she to say?
Actually, yes. I feel like something inside me is falling apart for absolutely no reason.
Instead, she shrugged lightly.
“I’m okay.”
Elsie looked unconvinced but didn’t push further.
And somehow, that made Alaine feel worse.
***
Later that afternoon, Alaine found herself alone again.
She sat quietly at a small café near the corner of the street, absentmindedly stirring her coffee long after it had gone cold.
Her thoughts drifted back to the message.
Sometimes silence says more than words.
Why had it bothered her so much?
It was just a random text, maybe a wrong number or even a scammer.
Yet somehow, it felt personal.
Too personal.
As if someone had looked directly into her soul, at the parts she worked hardest to hide.
***
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
Her chest tightened slightly as she opened it.
You don’t have to pretend all the time.
Alaine stared at the screen.
This time, she couldn’t brush it off.
A chill ran through her arms.
Who was this?
And how did they seem to know exactly what she was feeling?
***
For the first time all day, the buzzing in her mind went completely still.
***
Slowly, she typed back.
Who is this?
The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Alaine held her breath.
Finally, the reply came through.
Someone who understands.
***
And for reasons she couldn’t explain…
That frightened her more than it should have.
She exhaled slowly without realizing that she had been holding her breath.