Maya didn’t answer your texts all day.

That alone was enough to make your chest feel tight.

When she finally asked you to come over, her message was short.

Please. I need you. Now.

You found her sitting on the floor of her living room when you arrived, knees pulled to her chest, lights on in every room like she was afraid of the dark. Papers were scattered across the floor around her.

“Maya?” you said gently as you stepped inside. “What happened?”

She looked up at you slowly, eyes red and terrified in a way you hadn’t seen before.

“I think… I think I’m losing my mind.”

You hurried to her side. “What? No. Why would you think that?”

With shaking hands, she picked up one of the papers and held it out to you.

Your stomach dropped.

It was a note.

Threatening. Cold. Familiar.

But the worst part?

The handwriting was identical to hers.

“When I found the first one,” she whispered, “I thought someone was copying me. But then I found another. And another. In places only I go. Places no one else knows about.”

You looked at her carefully. “Maya… did you write these?”

Her eyes filled instantly with tears. “No. I swear to you. I would never—never threaten myself. But what if I did and don’t remember? What if something’s wrong with me?”

You took her face gently in your hands, forcing her to meet your eyes. “Listen to me. You are not crazy. You don’t do things like this. And you don’t forget entire actions like this without some kind of explanation.”

She trembled. “But it looks like me. It sounds like me. The words… they feel like my worst thoughts.”