The street outside is dead quiet. Except for the pigeons. Except for the low hum in the pipes. Except for the faintest *creak* of her own shoulder when she turns her head too quickly.
Naila hasn’t slept. Or she thinks she did. It’s blurry. There’s a glass on the counter that wasn’t there when she lay down. The kind with small cracks near the rim. The kind that catches light like a warning.
She touches her thumb. There’s no feeling in the pad. Just warmth and weight, like it belongs to someone else. There’s a word stuck under her tongue. She can almost cough it out, but it won’t come.
The mirror in her bathroom has condensation — but she hasn’t showered. She wipes it with her wrist.
Her own handwriting. But... wider spacing. Strained curves. Like it had to be coaxed from something deeper than ink.
The hum returns. Not in her ears — in her bones. This time, it’s counting.
April 4, 2029 – 04:11am
Today I woke up not knowing how I got home. The air smelled wrong — metallic and slow. My hand feels like it's remembering something I didn't do.
I started writing. But the letters were wrong. I tried again and they came out the same. Like the pen didn’t care what I meant.
I don’t think I’m dreaming anymore.
[note: attached symbols - unknown characters, consistent stroke width, mirrored left-right orientation]
SMARTLOG DEVICE: Naila_Hackney_E2
DATE: 2029-04-04
SENSOR TYPE: MOTION + GYRO + INFRARED
TIME RANGE: 01:00–04:00 BST
SUMMARY:
01:42 – motion in kitchen (no audio)
01:56 – vibration on bed sensor (0.83m amplitude, no subject wake)
02:11 – movement in hallway (mirror proximity triggered)
03:33 – corridor light toggled via app (no phone unlock recorded)
03:58 – phone moved 14cm laterally on desk
No face ID matches registered between 01:00–04:00
Voice command log: [none]
Note: mirror zone triggered despite subject logged as sleeping
FORENSIC SURFACE REPORT – HACKNEY FLAT #042
ITEM: BATHROOM MIRROR – CONDENSATION EVENT
Collected: 2029-04-04 07:15 BST
Technician: D. Karpova
FINDINGS:
- Word "COMPLY" faintly visible under polarised light
- Writing formed by minor pressure + thermal pattern, not ink or residue
- No fingerprints adjacent to lettering
- Height and stroke width consistent with left-handed motion, reversed orientation
[RECOMMENDATION: isolate bathroom for 24hr sensor observation]
AI-GENERATED DREAM SPEECH TRANSCRIPT
SOURCE: Smartbed NREM Recorder V2.4 (Hackney Region Trial)
SUBJECT: Naila [consented test group]
EXCERPT (02:23 BST):
"...not supposed to go down there
...but the map’s inside my skin
…you said the marrow would ring
and it does, it does, it does, it—"
[REPETITION DETECTED - ENTRY CUT AT 42s]
ANALYSIS:
- Vocal tone: breathless, unbroken chain
- Tempo: syncopated in threes (possible pattern echo)
- Recommendation: escalation to passive echo review