## Chapter 4 – The Rules of Fate
I didn't go home right away.
I couldn't.
Every shadow on the sidewalk looked like it was watching me. Every vibration in my pocket—real or imagined—made my heart jump. The city felt different now, like I was walking through a set instead of a real place, like something behind the walls was waiting for me to make the wrong move.
I ended up at a small park a few blocks away. Rusted swings creaked in the wind. A lone streetlamp buzzed overhead, even though the sun was still hanging low in the sky. The bench I sat on was cold, damp from last night's rain.
My phone lay in my palm.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
I hated it more when it didn't buzz.
I stared at my reflection in the dark screen. I didn't recognize the person looking back. The fear in his eyes was sharper. Older. Like he'd lived years in the last twelve hours.
**ME:** If you're really my future… then tell me the rules.
The dots appeared.
They didn't disappear this time.
They just stayed there, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Then the message came.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Rule One: You can't save everyone.*
I clenched my jaw.
**ME:** I saved Riya.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *You saved one moment. Not a life.*
My chest tightened.
**ME:** What does that even mean?
The phone buzzed again.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *People don't have one death. They have many. Accidents. Illness. Choices. Time. You can push one away. The others will still be waiting.*
The wind picked up, rustling the leaves around my feet like whispers I couldn't understand.
**ME:** Then why bother warning me at all?
There was a pause.
Longer than before.
When the reply came, it was simple.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Because doing nothing is worse.*
I swallowed.
**ME:** What's Rule Two?
The answer came immediately.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Every life you change costs another.*
My stomach dropped.
**ME:** That's not a rule. That's murder.
Three dots.
Then:
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *It's balance.*
The streetlamp above me flickered.
I stood up.
**ME:** Who dies for Riya?
The phone stayed dark.
For the first time since this started, it didn't answer right away.
I started walking, my steps slow, my mind racing. Faces passed me on the sidewalk—strangers, couples, kids on bikes. I wondered which of them was a debt. Which of them was already marked because of what I'd done.
The phone buzzed.
I stopped.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *You knew him.*
My breath caught.
**ME:** Knew who?
The reply felt heavier than all the others combined.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Mr. Han. Third floor. Heart attack. Twenty minutes ago.*
The world tilted.
Mr. Han.
The old man who fed the stray cats behind our building. The one who always nodded at me in the hallway, who smelled like tea and old books.
My legs went weak.
I leaned against a wall, the brick cold against my back.
**ME:** You're lying.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Check.*
I ran.
I don't remember deciding to. I don't remember my feet hitting the ground. I just remember the building coming into view, my chest burning, my vision blurring.
A crowd had gathered outside.
An ambulance was parked crookedly by the curb.
A stretcher.
A white sheet.
I didn't need to see his face.
I already knew.
I stumbled back, my stomach twisting, my throat tight.
My phone buzzed again.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Rule Three: You don't get to choose the price.*
Tears blurred my vision.
**ME:** This isn't saving people. This is trading them.
The response came slowly.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Now you understand.*
I slid down the wall and sat on the ground, my head in my hands.
I had wanted to be a hero.
I had wanted to stop a death.
Instead, I had caused one.
The phone vibrated one last time.
**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** *Walk away now, and you'll forget everything. Stay, and you'll carry every name. Every face. Every debt.*
I looked up at the sky.
Blue.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Completely unaware of what I'd done beneath it.
My hands tightened around the phone.
Because I already knew the truth.
I wasn't strong enough to forget.
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