The Last Text I Sent

When I was 16, my best friend and I used to take the same bus home every day.

Same seats. Same jokes. Same routine. One afternoon, I stayed after school

to finish a project. I texted him: “Go ahead without me.” He replied with just one word:

“Okay.” That bus never made it home. A truck ran a red light and hit it

head-on. Several people were injured. One didn’t survive. For weeks,

I couldn’t stop replaying that moment. If I hadn’t stayed late… If I hadn’t sent

that message… Years passed. One night, while switching phones,

I reread our old chats. That’s when I noticed something. The timestamp on