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How Did She Know His Name...........

Kamsi didn't respond immediately.

The phone remained pressed against his ear as one question echoed repeatedly in his mind.

How did she know my name?

The rain outside his apartment grew heavier.
On the other end of the line, Lora was quiet too.

Then she spoke.

"...Did I say something wrong?"

Kamsi swallowed.

"No."

Another pause.

"It's just..." he hesitated. "I don't remember telling you my name."

Silence.

The kind that makes your heart beat louder than it should.
When Lora finally answered, her voice had changed.

Softer.

More careful.

"You really don't remember?"
Kamsi frowned.

"Remember what?"
Lora let out a shaky breath.

"We've met before."

His grip tightened around the phone.
"What?"

"You probably don't remember it," she continued. "It happened years ago."

Kamsi stood up from his chair.

"That's impossible."
"Maybe," she whispered. "But I remember."

He looked around his art room as though the answer might be hidden somewhere among the sketches scattered across the floor.

"Lora... we've never met."

"You used to carry a blue backpack," she said quietly.
Kamsi froze.
"You had paint stains on your fingers."

His chest tightened.

"You were always sketching during lunch breaks."
He couldn't breathe for a moment.

Those weren't guesses.
Those were memories.

Memories no stranger should know.

"You dropped one of your drawings on the school staircase," Lora continued.
"I picked it up and ran after you..."

Kamsi slowly sat back down.

"...but you never looked back."

The room became painfully still.
For years, Kamsi had forgotten that version of himself.
The boy who loved drawing before life became too serious.

The boy who believed dreams were possible.
"Lora..." he whispered.

"Who are you?"
On the other end of the call, he heard the faint sound of her crying softly.

Then she said the words that shattered everything he thought he knew.

"I was the girl who sat behind you in class."
"You were my first friend."

"And you forgot me."

Read Chapter 6 tomorrow here...

Chapter 4 -The Voice He Couldn't Forget ☎️

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Kamsi could hear the faint sound of a busy workspace on the other end of the call.

Then Lora spoke again.

“Hello?”

Kamsi quickly sat upright.

“Hi... um... this might sound strange, but I think I have something that belongs to you.”

Silence.

“What is it?” she asked carefully.

“Your sketchbook.”
The line went quiet again.

This time, longer.

“My sketchbook?” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“How did you”

“The bus.”

Another pause.

Then suddenly, he heard a small laugh.
The first laugh he had ever heard from her.

“The rainy bus,” she said softly.
“The rainy bus,” Kamsi replied.

For some reason, both of them smiled.

Lora lowered her voice.
“I thought I'd never see it again.”

“Well... I thought I'd never see its owner again.”
The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Immediately, Kamsi regretted saying it.

But instead of sounding uncomfortable, Lora laughed again.
A little longer this time.

And somehow, the sound made him smile too.
"So..." she said.

"So..." he replied.

"When can I get it back?"

Kamsi glanced at the sketchbook lying on his desk.

Truthfully, he had already memorized every page.

But he wasn't ready for the conversation to end.

"Tomorrow?" he suggested.
"Tomorrow works."

Another silence followed.

Neither seemed eager to hang up.
Then Lora suddenly asked,

"Did you open it?"

Kamsi froze.

His eyes widened.

For a moment, he considered lying.
But something about her voice made honesty feel easier.

"Yes."

Another pause.

"And?"
Kamsi looked at the sketchbook again.

At the drawings.
At the note.
At the memories that somehow already felt important.

Then he answered quietly.

"I think whoever drew those pages has a beautiful way of seeing the world."

The line went silent.
Not awkward.
Just... silent.

As if neither of them knew what to say next.
Then Lora whispered something so softly he almost missed it.

"Thank you, Kamsi."

His heart skipped.

He had never told her his name, but how did she know?

Read Chapter 5 tomorrow here...