Arthur discovered that some conversations only worked when they happened too late to be interrupted.
It wasn't exactly the middle of the night. There was still the distant sound of cars, some neighbor insisting on existing. But the day had already given up on participating. That was enough.
He was sitting on the bedroom floor, his back against the bed, the laptop closed beside him. The phone lit his face from below, casting shadows he preferred not to think about.
All the mirrors were still covered.
They always were.
The chat had been open for minutes, no new messages. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was the rare kind that stretched without breaking. Arthur liked that. Not feeling urgency was a luxury.
The phone vibrated.
She: you disappear when you get comfortable
Arthur frowned, then smiled.
Arthur: is that good or bad?
She: still deciding
She: but I think it's good
He typed slowly.
Arthur: I only get like that with you
Three dots.
Gone.
Back again.
She: don't say that like that
Arthur: why?
She: because it sounds important
He stared at the screen for a few seconds. Funny how simple words could carry weight when placed wrong.
Arthur: sorry
She: that's not an apology
She: it's just a warning
He accepted it without arguing.
Shifted position, stretching his legs. The room was too warm, but he didn't open the window. The world outside demanded too much.
Arthur: how was your day?
She: calm
She: the way I like it
Arthur: no people?
She: the minimum necessary
He laughed quietly, alone.
Arthur: you're strange
Arthur: in a good way
She took longer to reply this time.
She: you are too
She: that's why it works
Arthur felt that familiar sensation in his chest. Something between relief and belonging. Like he'd gotten it right without trying.
Arthur: I think normal people wear us out
She: they look too much
She: ask too much
She: want to understand things they don't need to
Arthur agreed instantly.
Arthur: looking too much is the worst
He regretted it the moment he sent it.
Not because it was untrue.
But because it was too close.
The three dots appeared again. This time, they stayed.
She: when I was younger
She: I thought the problem was that I didn't know how to hide properly
Arthur adjusted his posture, attentive now.
Arthur: how so?
She took her time. He imagined her rereading, deciding how much of herself she could let slip without breaking the invisible agreement between them.
She: there was a time
She: when I wore a huge brace
She: one of those really noticeable ones
Arthur pictured something awkward, exaggerated. He smiled with tenderness.
She: and I only wore an old coat
She: always with the hood up
Arthur: cold?
She: no
She: protection
He understood immediately.
She: people looked too much
She: even when they had no reason
She: even when I didn't want them to
Arthur felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
Arthur: teenagers are idiots
She: adults too
She: they just learn how to disguise it better
He stayed quiet, leaving space.
She: I thought if I made myself less visible
She: things would get better
She: that they'd stop seeing just that
Arthur frowned.
Arthur: just that what?
She took longer again.
She: what they thought I was
Arthur rested his head against the bed, staring up at the invisible ceiling in the dim light.
Arthur: that's unfair
She: most things are
She: but we learn to live with it
Arthur thought about the bathroom mirror.
The towel.
The mask.
Arthur: you must've been really strange back then
He typed without thinking. Idiot. The moment the message was sent, he realized the mistake. It wasn't offensive, but it was… reductive.
She replied too quickly.
She: I was quiet
She: that's not being strange
Arthur: it is
Arthur: quiet scares people
She: maybe
She: or maybe they just don't know how to deal with not being the center
He laughed, genuinely.
Arthur: you sound like someone who's watched a lot
She: I watched too much
She: because talking drew attention
Something inside Arthur clicked wrong.
Arthur: so you understand me
She didn't reply right away.
Arthur went on, encouraged by his own conclusion.
Arthur: I mean
Arthur: you get this thing about disappearing
Arthur: about existing better at a distance
Arthur smiled at the screen, satisfied. It was comforting to believe they stood in the same place. That they shared the same crooked way of being in the world.
The three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
She: I understand you
She: just not in the same way
Arthur blinked.
Arthur: what do you mean?
She: some people hide
She: because they don't want to be seen
She: others
She: because they're seen too much
Arthur read the message three times.
Arthur: I don't know if I get it
She: that's okay
She: you don't have to
A different silence followed. Not uncomfortable. But alert. As if both were aware that something had been brushed too lightly to hurt, yet firmly enough to be remembered.
Arthur decided not to push.
Arthur: I like how we talk
Arthur: no pressure
Arthur: no expectations
She: me too
She: here no one asks me for anything
Arthur: not a photo
Arthur: not an explanation
Arthur: not proof
She: especially that
He smiled.
Arthur: it's perfect
She didn't disagree.
But she didn't confirm it either.
Arthur looked around the dark room. Thought about how he'd never asked what she looked like. Never felt real curiosity. In his mind, she was like him: someone who preferred not to be seen because there was something wrong, displaced, out of place.
It was comforting to imagine that.
Arthur: sometimes I think if we saw each other
Arthur: it would ruin everything
She: I think so too
She: our world works better like this
She: separate
Arthur: I agree
Arthur: at a distance everything feels gentler
She: more honest too
He closed his eyes.
Arthur: good night
She: good night, Arthur
His name, written like that, felt more intimate than it should have.
He set the phone beside him and stayed there, breathing in the dark. Thought of her in the old coat, hood pulled up, trying to disappear. Smiled with a strange sense of recognition.
"We're the same," he murmured to nothing.
In the bathroom, behind the closed door, the mirror remained covered.
In the bedroom, Arthur was convinced he had found someone just as strange as he was.