It came back three nights later.
Not gradually.
Not softly.
Not like before.
I woke up gasping.
Heart racing. Sheets twisted around my legs. The room too dark, too still.
For a second, I didn't know why.
Then I felt it.
That familiar pressure.
Like something was about to press itself into my mind—
A voice.
But no one was touching me.
I sat up slowly.
"No…" I whispered.
That wasn't how it worked.
It needed contact.
Skin to skin.
That was the rule.
But the feeling didn't leave.
It grew stronger.
Closer.
Like someone standing right behind me.
And then—
"Don't let him see."
I froze.
Every part of me went cold.
That wasn't right.
That wasn't how it worked.
I hadn't touched anyone.
My breathing became uneven.
"No… no, no, no…"
I scrambled out of bed, backing into the wall like distance would help, like space could protect me from something that was already inside my head.
"Don't let him see."
The sentence repeated.
Exactly the same.
No variation.
No change.
Before, the future always felt… distant.
Like something waiting.
Something that would happen eventually.
This—
This felt immediate.
Like it was already happening.
I pressed my hands over my ears.
It didn't help.
Of course it didn't help.
Because the voice wasn't outside.
It was me.
Or worse—
Something using me.
A floorboard creaked in the hallway.
I went completely still.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Malik.
My chest tightened.
Don't let him see.
See what?
I looked down at my hands.
They were shaking.
Nothing was there.
Nothing had changed.
So why—
The doorknob turned.
"Amara?"
His voice was quiet.
Tired.
Still distant.
But closer than it had been in days.
Panic surged through me.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
"Don't come in!" I snapped.
Silence.
The door stopped moving.
"Why?" he asked.
I couldn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
"Don't let him see."
The sentence pressed harder now.
Urgent.
Demanding.
My eyes darted around the room.
The mirror.
I hadn't looked at it.
Not since earlier.
Slowly…
too slowly…
I turned my head.
And looked.
For a moment—
everything was normal.
Then—
something moved.
Not in the room.
In the reflection.
My breath caught.
It was me.
Standing exactly where I was.
Same position.
Same expression.
But the eyes—
The eyes weren't right.
They looked…
knowing.
Like they had already seen something I hadn't.
Like they were waiting.
"Don't let him see."
The sentence snapped into place.
My stomach dropped.
He wasn't supposed to see this.
"Amara?" Malik's voice again. Closer now.
The door creaked open slightly.
"No!" I shouted, louder this time.
The reflection didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't look away.
It just watched me.
Like it knew what was coming next.
My heart pounded against my ribs.
Because suddenly—
terrifyingly—
I understood something new.
The sentences weren't just about the future anymore.
They were changing.
And whatever they were becoming…
It wasn't something I could control.
Or survive.