Riddles in the Dark

Kai's phone buzzed at 2 AM. Again.

"u up?" the message read from Sphinx, the mysterious user who'd been DMing him for weeks. Kai typed back, "can't sleep. friend drama."

The story spilled out — how Jordan, his best friend since kindergarten, had been ditching him for the popular crowd. How Kai had spotted Jordan laughing at something Kai said earlier that day. How it felt like being slowly erased from someone's life.

Sphinx replied: "what's something that's yours but everyone else uses it more?"

"My name?" Kai guessed.

"your heart," Sphinx typed back. Kai stared at the screen, weirdly moved.

Friday night, Jordan dragged Kai to a party Kai didn't want to attend. Someone brought out a flashlight and started doing palm readings in the garage. Kai watched Jordan hold out his palm, laughing as a girl traced the lines and told him he'd have "three great loves."

"Your turn, loser," Jordan said, but his smile didn't reach his eyes anymore.

Kai extended his hand. The girl traced his lifeline. "You're gonna lose someone important soon," she said, "but you'll find something better."

Jordan's laugh was too loud. "Dude, she's saying you're gonna die alone."

Kai pulled his hand back. His phone buzzed. Sphinx: "ask him why he's really here."

Kai's stomach did that thing it did when he was about to say something real and terrifying. "Why'd you bring me, Jordan? You've been weird all week."

The garage went quiet. Jordan's fake smile slipped. "I'm trying to get invited to Tyler's party next weekend. I need a wingman, okay? You know I'm awkward without you."

The words hit Kai like a physical blow. He wasn't being replaced — he was being used.

"I'm not your prop," Kai said, his voice shaking. "I'm your friend. Or I was."

He walked out, phone already in hand. Sphinx's message was waiting: "riddle 3: what breaks when you say it?"

Kai typed back, smiling for the first time all night: "silence."

"nope," Sphinx replied. "your heart. but urs is still in one piece. proud of u."

Kai stared at the ceiling that night, missing Jordan but feeling something else too — like he'd finally figured out who he was when nobody was watching.