The Countdown Has Started

Fear makes you sloppy. That was the first thing I realized. I’d stopped doing normal things.

I left lights on all night. I checked locks so often my fingers hurt.

I jumped every time my phone buzzed, even when it was just a spam notification or a group chat.

And whoever was watching me knew it. So I decided to stop reacting.

I didn’t reply to the messages anymore. I stopped deleting them too. I let them sit unread,

unopened, like they meant nothing. I changed my routines—left the house at different

times, took longer routes home, slept on the sofa instead of my bed.

If they were studying patterns, I would ruin them. For a few days, it worked.