Elian realize something was wrong, when his mother didn’t recognize him.
She look at him—and smile politely .
“Can I help you?” she asked.
Like he was a stranger.
At first , Elian laughed.
“Mom, stop playing.”
But she didn’t laugh back.
Her smile disappear and she look confused.
“I think you have the wrong house.”
Something felt off inside Elian
Not loudly.
Not all at once.
But enough.
“I live here,” He said, his voice shaking. “Room upstairs. Blue walls. You painted them because I hated white.”
"His mother didn't seems to remember
If anything—it hardened.
“I’m calling someone.”
Fear started to creep in.
Not sharp.
Not sudden.
Elian backed away.
Step by step.
Heart pounding harder with each breath.
Because deep down—
He knew.
She wasn’t pretending.
---
By the time he reached the street, his hands were shaking.
“Okay… okay,” he said to himself. “This is a mistake. A prank. Something stupid.”
He pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Not “bad connection.”
Not “searching.”
Just—
Nothing.
“Fine,” he started looking for his picture,
If he could show her—prove it—
His thumb froze.
They were all gone.
No childhood photos.
No birthdays.
No memories.
Nothing.
“That’s not possible…”
His breathing grew uneven now.
Faster.
Shallower.
Wrong.
A girl stood across the street watching him.she wasn't curious or confused.she was certain.
A voice behind him.
“You’re still here.” she said.
Elian turned to her.
“What?” he asked.
the girl stepped close.you weren't supposed to last this long.
The words landed wrong.
Like they didn’t belong in the world.
“What are you talking about?”
She stepped closer.
Slow.
Measured.
Like she had all the time in the world.
“You weren’t supposed to last this long.”
Something about her made his instincts scream.
Run.
But his feet didn’t move.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
Instead of answering, she asked:
“What’s your name?”
“Elian.”
The girl frowned.
Not slightly.
Not thoughtfully.
But like something didn’t fit.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
She stepped even closer now.
Close enough that her voice dropped.
“Because according to everything…”
Her eyes locked onto his.
Cold.
Unshakable.
“You don’t have one.”
Silence fell between them.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
Elian let out a shaky breath. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe,” she said calmly. “But I’m not the one being erased.”
His chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
---
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out something small.
A folded piece of paper.
Worn at the edges.
She held it out.
“Take it.”
He hesitated.
Every instinct told him not to.
But something stronger—
Desperation—
Forced his hand forward.
He unfolded it.
And froze.
It was a missing person poster.
A picture stared back at him.
His face.
His eyes.
His scar.
But the name at the top—
Wasn’t Elian.
It read:
UNKNOWN MALE — IDENTITY UNCONFIRMED
His pulse roared in his ears.
“That’s not—this isn’t—”
---
“You disappeared three days ago,” the girl said.
---
Elian’s head snapped up.
“No. I was just at home. I was just—”
“Not in this version of the world.”
---
The ground beneath him suddenly felt unstable.
Like it might give out at any second.
“What are you saying?”
She took a breath.
And for the first time.
There was something human in her eyes.
Something almost like pity.
“I’m saying,” she whispered, “you slipped through a broken moment in time.”
A beat.
“And now the world is trying to fix its mistake.”
His stomach dropped.
“How?”
Her gaze didn’t waver.
“By deleting you.”
The word hit harder than anything else.
Deleting.
Not killing.
Not hurting.
Erasing.
Like he never existed.
Elian staggered back.
“No… no, that’s not real. That’s not possible.”
“Look around,” she said softly.
He did.
People passed by.
Cars moved.
The world continued.
But something was off.
No one