CHAPTER 1- Something Changed
Amara knew something was wrong the moment she saw the message.
She had barely opened her eyes when she reached for her phone, still half-buried beneath her blanket. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of a generator somewhere outside.
She smiled when she saw Daniel’s name.
For almost eleven months, his morning messages had been predictable.
Good morning, beautiful ❤️.
Sometimes it was longer.
Good morning, sleepyhead. Have you woken up?
Sometimes he sent a voice note because he knew she liked hearing his voice first thing in the morning.
Today, there was only one word.
Morning.
Amara stared at it.
She read it again.
Then again.
Her smile disappeared.
Maybe he was busy.
Maybe he had woken up late.
Maybe his phone battery was dying.
There were a hundred reasonable explanations.
Still, something inside her whispered,
He’s changing.
She hated that voice.
It had been getting louder lately.
Amara typed Good morning ❤️, then deleted the heart.
She typed Good morning, what’s wrong?
Deleted that too.
Finally, she sent:
Morning.
She dropped the phone beside her and stared at the ceiling.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
No reply.
She picked up her phone.
Nothing.
She put it down again.
Nothing.
“Don’t start,” she whispered to herself.
She knew herself too well.
Once she started overthinking, everything became evidence.
A late reply.
A short message.
A missed call.
A change in tone.
She could turn one small thing into a whole story in her head.
And the worst part was that sometimes her stories felt real.
She finally got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.
Her phone buzzed.
She rushed back.
It was only a notification from a shopping app.
She sighed.
“Seriously?”
She tossed the phone onto her bed.
She was annoyed with herself now.
Daniel had done nothing wrong.
At least, not yet.
Across town, Daniel was sitting in traffic.
His phone was beside him, but he wasn’t looking at it.
He had barely slept.
The previous evening at work had been terrible. A mistake had been made on a project he was helping with, and even though it wasn’t completely his fault, his supervisor had made it clear that everyone involved would have to explain themselves.
Daniel had spent half the night thinking about it.
He was tired.
Frustrated.
And honestly, a little scared.
He was trying to get his life together.
There were bills.
Work.
Family responsibilities.
Things he hadn’t told Amara because he didn’t want her worrying about him.
When he woke up that morning, he had wanted to send her his usual message.
He even typed it.
Good morning, beautiful ❤️.
Then he looked at the time.
He was already late.
He deleted it.
He typed:
Morning.
And sent it.
That was all.
Nothing more.
He didn’t know that Amara was already building a meaning around it.
By afternoon, Amara had tried to convince herself that she was fine.
She went about her day.
She laughed with her friend on the phone.
She ate lunch.
She watched a few videos.
But every now and then, she checked her phone.
Daniel had sent a message around noon.
How’s your day going?
She stared at it.
That was better.
She should have felt relieved.
Instead, she noticed that there was no heart.
No nickname.
No “beautiful.”
Just a normal question.
She replied:
Good. Yours?
He responded almost twenty minutes later.
Busy. I’ll talk to you later.
There it was again.
Later.
Amara locked her phone.
She didn’t want to admit how much it bothered her.
That evening, Daniel called.
She answered.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Ama.”
“Hi.”
“You sound tired.”
“I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
There was a pause.
Daniel waited for her to say more.
She waited for him to ask.
Neither did.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say?”
He laughed softly.
“Nothing. I was just asking.”
“Okay.”
Another silence.
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
Something felt different.
He just couldn’t figure out what.
“I’ll let you sleep,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Goodnight, Ama.”
“Goodnight.”
The call ended.
Amara stared at her screen.
She wanted him to call back.
He didn’t.
She placed the phone on her bedside table and turned off the light.
Maybe it meant nothing.
Maybe tomorrow would be normal again.
She closed her eyes.
But somewhere in the back of her mind, that little voice returned.
He’s changing.
And this time, she couldn’t completely ignore it.