I kept thinking about him.
Even when I told myself not to.
Even when I tried to act like yesterday was just a strange moment my brain had created.
But it didn’t feel like imagination.
It felt too real.
The voice.
The presence.
The way he looked at me like I was not a stranger to him.
And that one line… “Like you’re carrying something you never asked for.” I pulled my hoodie tighter as I walked through the same streets again.
Today, everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Like nothing unusual had ever happened.
My school was the same.
My classmates were the same.
My so-called friends were the same too—smiling when they needed something, ignoring when they didn’t.
I learned not to expect much from people anymore.
It was easier that way.
At home, my younger brother and sister were arguing loudly over something small.
Their voices filled the house like usual chaos.
“Stop it,” I said automatically, without even looking properly.
They didn’t listen at first… but they slowed down a little.
That was my life.
Small responsibilities.
Small noises.
Small moments that repeated every day.
But my mind was somewhere else.
Somewhere behind me.
Like I expected him to appear again if I turned fast enough.
I shook the thought away.
That was stupid.
He was just a stranger.
A weird one… but still a stranger.
School passed slowly.
I barely focused.
Teachers spoke.
Friends laughed.
People talked around me.
But none of it reached me properly.
During lunch break, I sat slightly away from everyone.
Not because I hated people.
Just because I never felt like I fully belonged with them.
A group nearby was laughing.
One of them called my name just to ask something small, then stopped caring once they got the answer.
Fake friends.
I was used to it.
I stared at my food without really eating it.
That’s when I felt it again.
That same silence.
Not physical silence.
Something deeper.
Like the world had paused for half a second.
My fingers stopped.
I slowly looked up.
And there he was.
Standing near the school gate.
Same hoodie.
Same cargo pants.
Mask covering his face.
Like he had always been there.
Like he belonged there.
But I knew better.
He didn’t.
My heart tightened.
I stood up without thinking.
People around me were still talking, laughing, moving.
But for me, everything blurred except him.
I walked towards the gate.
Step by step.
And he didn’t move.
He just waited.
When I reached closer, I stopped a few steps away.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
My voice sounded more controlled than I felt.
He looked at me for a moment.
Then spoke calmly.
“Observation.” “That’s not an answer.” “It is,” he said simply.
I frowned.
“You can’t just appear at my school.” His visible eye curved slightly.
A small, almost invisible smile.
“I already did.” That made me pause.
He was right.
And that was the problem.
He was always one step ahead of logic.
I crossed my arms.
“What do you want from me?” For the first time, his gaze shifted slightly—like he was choosing his words carefully.
“I want to understand your world,” he said.
“And make sure you stay safe in it.” That sentence made something uncomfortable settle in my chest.
“Safe from what?” I asked slowly.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked past me.
At the world behind my shoulder.
At something I couldn’t see.
Then he spoke in a lower tone.
“From things that don’t belong here either.” A cold feeling ran through me.
I turned around quickly.
Nothing.
Just students.
Noise.
Normal life.
When I looked back, he was still watching the same direction.
Like he saw something I couldn’t.
I whispered, “You’re not normal, are you?” He looked at me again.
A long pause.
Then— “No,” he said simply.
“And neither is your future.” My breath stopped for a moment.
Before I could ask anything else, he stepped back slightly.
“Go back inside,” he said.
“For now, act normal.” “Act normal?” I repeated.
“After you appear out of nowhere again?” His eye softened slightly.
“Trust me,” he said.
“Normal is safer right now.” And then he turned away.
Just like yesterday.
Calm.
Controlled.
Unreachable.
But this time, before disappearing into the crowd, he added something quieter.
“So I can watch properly.” And he was gone.
I stood there for a long time.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just staring at the place where he vanished again.
Behind me, life continued like nothing happened.
Students laughed.
Bells rang.
Wind moved.
But something inside me had already changed.
Because now I knew one thing for sure.
He wasn’t just a strange man who appeared once.
He was watching me.
And I didn’t know why.