CHAPTER 5 — The Woman Who Should Not Be Remembered
The next morning, Sophia was not alone anymore.
Not physically.
But structurally.
She noticed:
Cars that slowed near her.
People who stopped speaking when she entered rooms.
The sense that her life had become slightly less private without changing shape.
And then—
Alessandro appeared again.
This time outside her apartment building.
Waiting.
As if he had never left.
“You should not be here,” she said immediately.
“I am here because you are now visible,” he replied.
“That makes you a risk.”
“I didn’t ask to be visible,” she snapped.
Alessandro studied her.
“No,” he said.
“You were made visible.”
A pause.
“And I need to know by whom.”
Sophia shook her head.
“I don’t understand any of this.”
Alessandro stepped closer.
And for the first time, his voice lowered slightly.
“Then I will explain it slowly,” he said.
“You met my son.”
“Yes.”
“He recognized you.”
“Yes.”
“That is not normal.”
Sophia frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Alessandro’s eyes held hers.
“It means memory is not the only place he knows you from.”
Silence.
Then softly:
“It means someone else taught him your presence.”
May you like
Sophia felt cold spread through her chest.
“…Who?”
