Signal Lost

Maya's thumbs moved like lightning across her iphone screen, double-tapping, hearting, swiping through lives that seemed so much brighter than hers. 472 followers. Not enough. Never enough.

"You're obsessed again," her mom called from the kitchen. "Go outside. It's actually nice out."

It wasn't nice out. Maya grabbed her backpack and headed to the park anyway, because what else did she have? Liam hadn't texted back in three days, and her best friend Chloe's post from Maya's own birthday party—that she hadn't even been invited to—had already hit 200 likes.

The sky darkened as she sat on the swings, her dog Buster trotting beside her. He was a rescue, scruffy and mismatched, nothing like the polished pets on Chloe's feed. But Buster didn't care about follower counts. He just nudged her hand with his wet nose, demanding attention.

"Yeah, yeah," Maya muttered, scratching behind his ears. "At least someone likes me."

The first drop of rain hit her phone screen. Then another. She should go home—but something made her stay. Maybe it was the storm rolling in, electric and wild, or maybe she just didn't want to face her room, her phone, the endless comparison game.

Lightning cracked the sky open, a jagged line of purple-white brilliance. Buster barked at it, his tail wagging like he'd just witnessed something miraculous. Maya actually laughed—really laughed—for the first time in weeks.

Her phone buzzed. A notification.

Liam: sorry been busy. wanna hang?

The storm inside her chest settled. Everything was going to be okay.

Then, in that perfect moment of clarity, her iphone slipped from her rain-slicked fingers. She watched it fall—slow motion, inevitable—into a puddle at her feet. The screen flickered once, twice, then died.

Maya stared at her reflection in the black glass. Buster licked her cheek, leaving a wet stripe.

She didn't panic. Didn't scramble to check if it still worked. Just sat there as the rain poured down, soaked through her hoodie, washed away everything except this: she was alive, she was here, and for the first time in forever, nobody was watching.