The depth of short stories and micro-fiction 2

The Morning We Woke Up Different

The buzzing of his phone pulled Elias from sleep, its blue glow a stark contrast to the early morning darkness. He squinted, his eyes adjusting to the light, and saw a single text message: "It's not real. None of it. Trust no one. Escape." The sender was unknown. Elias frowned, his mind still groggy, and dismissed it as a prank. He turned the phone off, its glow disappearing, and drifted back to sleep.

He woke again to the familiar scent of baking bread and his mother's soft humming. He rose, stretched, and reached for his phone, the text message still there, unread. He decided to ignore it. It was probably just a stupid joke.

He walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. His family was gathered around the table, his mother, his father, his older sister, Sarah, and his little brother, Ben. They all seemed slightly...off. There was a subtle frown on each of their faces that wasn't their usual morning expression.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," his mother said, her voice lacking its usual warmth.

Elias felt a shiver run down his spine. Something was different. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he knew something was wrong.

"You didn't see anything strange this morning, did you?" his mother asked, her gaze fixed on him.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the creeping unease. "No, why?"

"Just... I had a strange dream," she said, her voice strained. "And Sarah had a similar one."

Sarah, who usually was the first to greet him with a playful jab, remained silent, her eyes downcast. Ben, the youngest, was fiddling with a toy, his usually bright face clouded with a sombre expression.

"What was the dream about?" Elias asked, feeling a knot of apprehension tighten in his stomach.

His mother hesitated, then said, "It was... about something not being real. Like everything was a facade."

His father cleared his throat, his face unreadable. "It's just a dream, honey. Don't worry about it."

But Elias wasn't convinced. The strange text message, the unusual behaviour of his family, the unsettling dream his mother mentioned—it all felt...off. He glanced at his phone, the text message still blinking in the corner. He had an urge to delete it, to pretend it never happened, but he couldn't bring himself to.

Throughout the day, the unease continued to grow. His family seemed distant, their conversations strained. His father was unusually quiet, and Sarah avoided eye contact. Even Ben, the ever optimistic one, seemed to have lost his usual exuberance.

Elias decided to confide in his best friend, Maya. He met her after school, showing her the text message.

She read it, her brow furrowed. "That's freaky," she admitted. "But maybe it's just a hoax, you know, one of those urban legends."

Elias wasn't so sure. He felt a gnawing sensation in his gut, an instinctive distrust of everything around him.

"What's up with your family?" she asked.

Elias told her about his mother's dream, the strange behaviour of his family, the growing feeling of unease that was tightening around him like a vice.

Maya listened attentively, her expression thoughtful. "I don't know what to tell you, Elias," she said finally. "But if you feel that something is wrong, maybe you should trust your instincts."

That night, Elias couldn't sleep. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the text message a constant presence in his mind.

He decided to investigate. He searched online for similar messages, for any explanation. All he found were conspiracy theories and hoaxes, but nothing concrete. He found no evidence of the text message, no reports of similar experiences.

The next morning, Elias woke up feeling even more unsettled. He looked around his room, his eyes scanning every detail. Was the world around him real? Was it all a simulation, an elaborate illusion? He felt a surge of panic, a terrifying realization that everything he knew, everything he believed in, might be a lie.

He went downstairs, his heart pounding. He found his family gathered around the table, their faces grim.

"Elias," his mother said, her voice raspy. "We need to talk."

She explained that they, too, had received the same text message. They had all experienced the same unsettling dream. They had all felt the same mounting sense of unease.

"It's a warning," his father said, his voice strained. "Something isn't right. We need to leave."

Elias felt a wave of relief wash over him. He wasn't alone. His family felt it too.

"But where do we go?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

His father looked at his family, their faces illuminated by the morning light. "It doesn't matter. Anywhere but here."

They packed a few essentials, necessities for a quick escape. They left the house in silence, their faces pale, their eyes filled with fear.

As they drove away, Elias saw the house in his rearview mirror, its familiar shape slowly fading into the distance. He wondered what they were escaping from, what truth they were trying to outrun. He didn't have the answers, but he had his family, and they were all together. And that, in this uncertain world, was all that mattered.