Whispers under the skin of the city
The night lights of Warsaw pulsed like veins under the thin skin of the city. Seventeen-year-old Lena sat on the roof of a block of flats on Grojecka Street, watching the trams leave red and yellow streaks on the rails. Her favourite album was playing in her headphones, but it wasn't the music that made her heart beat faster. It was the strange whispering she had begun to hear over the past few days - quiet, barely perceptible, as if someone was trying to tell her a secret.
Before she discovered that this voice really existed, she thought she was just reading too many comic books and watching TV series. But later, outside the school, when a friend made fun of her for her new shoes, the whisper was louder: "You don't have to be scared. I can see her. I know her fears." Lena felt a strange confidence all at once - and that's when Maria got tense and ran off into the crowd.
Now, over the rooftops, Lena had the feeling that the whole city was breathing with her. Voices came and went, sometimes they were like echoes of thoughts, sometimes like clear sentences - as long as she concentrated. They brought with them other people's emotions, their secrets, their fears, sometimes silly everyday things.
In the evening, someone new spoke up. The whisper was not friendly. "Lena... If you can hear me, you're not the only one. They're already looking for you." The girl tried to ignore the voice, but couldn't. It wasn't her imagination - she knew that for sure.
She stood up from the concrete, feeling the cold wind on her cheeks. Beneath her feet, the street was far away, and she felt suddenly watched. Was it possible that someone else could hear the whispers too? If so, are they friends or enemies?
At the same moment she heard a door slam open on the staircase next door. Every muscle in her body tightened like a spring. Who goes out on the roof at this hour? Was it a coincidence... or had a game just started that she had no idea about?
Lena retreated into the shadows, feeling a new, unfamiliar voice flow through her thoughts. This time it was not a whisper, but a short command: "Run."
Author of this ending:
English
polski
What Happens Next?