[Short Short] Episode 1: 'Read'
Two o'clock in the morning.
My smartphone vibrated.
There was only one notification.
'How are you?'
It was an unknown number.
Thinking it was spam,
I closed it right away.
──The next morning.
When I checked the notification,
the message was marked as 'Read'.
......That's strange.
I haven't opened it yet.
Feeling uneasy,
I fearfully opened the chat.
The sender
had continued further.
'Do you know why it's marked as read?'
'You read it yesterday.'
'It wasn't you who forgot.'
'You were made to forget.'
A faint chill ran down my spine.
That's impossible.
I read it yesterday?
I don't understand.
I looked at the screen again.
It was definitely marked as read.
The time sent, the date,
nothing seemed wrong.
The only thing that was wrong
was my memory.
The moment
I tried to close the screen.
A new notification arrived.
Reflexively, I turned around.
There is no one here.
I let out a sigh of relief,
at that moment.
The very last message.
"I told you not to look, didn't I?"
That message
displayed a timestamp.
── One minute later.
2026 year8 month2 day 14:00
《A Drop Remains.💧》
[Short-Short] Episode 2: 'Unread' is here👈
Afterword✍️
ATF-san's short-short 'Killed by Numbers' and it gave me the chills,
making me feel a little cooler. ☺️
Still lingering in that mood, I thought, 'Maybe I should try writing one too.'
This time, I am quietly raising my hand for Yoshimaru-san's project [#GoosebumpsChampionship]. 🙋
I have almost never written horror before.
That is precisely why, instead of 'shocking horror,' I have tried to capture
a small sense of unease found in everyday life and lock it into a single short-short.
If, after reading this, you feel a slight chill down your spine every time you see 'Read' on your smartphone,
I would be very happy. 💧
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