The Second Body
On the nights we delay, something else takes our place.
She thought nothing was missing—until she was.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
The silence in the study was a heavy warm blanket. But Nelly was used to it, living alone.
Her apartment defined her. The sounds. The smells. Every piece of furniture.
Anything out of place would be -
Unthinkable.
She woke up one morning to discover just that.
Her coffee cup, with half-drunk coffee. Not missing - misplaced, on the wrong side of the table. Her toothbrush, with toothpaste. The frayed bristles a reminder.. The book she started to read the night before, new, with dog ears.
The apartment remained. Nothing missing. Nothing changed.
Everything different.
It was that way for a few mornings. Each morning felt -
Edited.
Not wrong enough to panic. Not right enough for comfort.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
Nelly kept turning her pillow. She couldn't sleep. A book on the wrong shelf. Her glasses, on the wrong side of the table. Her slippers, on the other side of the bed from where she had placed them.
A webcam.
It hummed.
Small movements. Closer. And closer.
To her.
At 2:43, she sat up.
At 2:44, she lay down.
At 2:45, out of bed.
A new shift.
Small edits. But unmistakable.
Consequential.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
The footage began to argue with itself.
She was asleep. And she was not.
She was on the left side of the bed. And on the right.
The screen held two versions of herself - one sleeping. The other -
Sitting. Lying. Sitting.
Then, her mattress. Little dips.
Then, slightly larger sinkholes.
The space next to Nelly had memorised her form.
It breathed. In sync with her.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
It came.
The second body. Creating dips. Spaces. Sinkholes.
On the other side of her mattress.
Only on nights she left things...
Undone.
The more she left them, the deeper it rested.
Neglect had a shape.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
The next night. There were no messages. No delays.
The bed was still.
2:43 a.m. She sat up.
The bed was empty.
She didn't return. She had left.
The imprint remained in the morning. In the space.
Not where she used to sleep.
🕯️🛏️🌙⏰📹🪞👤🕳️🫥🫧
Original microfiction by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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Comments (3)
Thank you so much 💚 💚 💚 WOW HUGS💚 💚💚 💚💚 💚💚 💚
🌼I could feel the frantic chronological order of her misery in your use of anaphora: "At 2:43 she sat up At 2:44 she lay down At 2:45 out of bed" 🌼I could tell she was restless, but the haunting part is that nothing could be done to change her circumstances.
Omggg, this was soooo creeepppyyyy!