I’m a bit annoyed that my cell service has seemingly been cancelled. I’ve properly been paying my bills and everything, too.

As I continue walking, I spot a group of payphones near the station. It’s something I’ve never noticed or always ignored since I’ve always had a cell phone in my pocket, and it seems others felt the same as most of them were full of graffiti and fallen into a state of disrepair.

Before long I had found a working one and used some of my loose change that I had in my wallet. I dialled my mom’s phone number and gave her a call.

“Seeing as it’s a new year and all, it’s only right to call your parents at this time.” I told myself since I would probably have been berated over the phone had I not called first thing to give my New Year’s greetings. It probably would have evolved into complaining about ‘grandkids’ and ‘finding a boyfriend’ too, I considered while listening to the old crackling dial tone of the payphone.

Before long, the phone was picked up. “Hello?” A gentle voice resounded from the other side. “Who is this?”

“Aha, mom it’s Talia. I’m calling from a payphone because my phone is out of service, apparently they cancelled the service even though I was paying the monthly bills and everything, can you beli- “

“Who? What do you mean?

“Huh?”

“My daughter is at home- who is this?”

“Mom… I’m your daughter. What are you talking about?” I was beginning to realise one of the worst outcomes possible.

“I only have one daughter. Ahh is this the wrong number? You said you were calling from a payphone right? You must have put in a wrong number.”

“…Yeah… That must be it…”

“Well, be sure to get it write next time, haha. Always call remember to your parents on New Year’s young lady!”

“…Yeah, thanks… bye…”

*click*

It dawned on me then and there, I wanted to deny it so bad. First with Joey and secondly with mom. This may also have something to do with the cell service.

“…That was definitely mom’s voice and I know I didn’t input the wrong number, there’s no way I could’ve. It’s been the same one for like a decade…

“And then there’s the content of the conversation itself” I tried my best to keep my tears back, holding firm on the grip of the payphone. “She didn’t remember me…”

I began to go through every number in my contacts list as I monotonously began to input each phone number one by one into the payphone. My friends, my landlord, a guy who slipped his number into my pocket last night. but each outcome was the same as the first.

It only to confirm the theory I wished wasn’t true.

“Nobody remembers me…”

After a few minutes of deep breaths and calming myself down I listlessly wondered what I should do next.

I glanced at my phone again, ‘SOS Only’ it read instead of the signal bars and service provider before I realised. “This might be way worse that I’d imagined…”

Even if everyone in the world were to inexplicably forget about my existence then there should still be a record of me living that I just need to show right? Birth certificate, anything.

But if there were still records of me then I should still exist within the database of the cell provider I use, but I don’t have a connection.

But this can still be chalked up to coincidence, albeit an extremely unlikely one.

As I thought about this, the train was arriving at the platform.

I gathered my wallet I had left on the payphone counter and quickly ran to the station and got out my train pass.

“Shit…”

My train pass didn’t work.

‘This doesn’t mean anything though! I still have a way to prove if I exist or not!’

There didn’t seem to be a ticket inspector on the platform among the small crowd already there, so I walked by the scanner pretending I had paid the fare.

The train ride home was tiring despite being the morning, it’s just been too eventful recently.

I didn’t really pay attention on the way back, only woken up from my stupor by the automated announcer stating my station name.

Once again, I looked around for a ticket inspector and quickly passed the gate with the crowd getting off the train.

Before long I had made it back to my apartment, it was a short walk but the horn from the train is loud and of-putting for tenants driving the rent price down, though I don’t really mind.

As I walked up the stairs I reflected on the day that had been, recounting the oddities that had occurred before arriving at my floor.

A few more deep breaths and I had psyched myself up.

I knocked on my apartment door.

…

There was no response.

Just in case, I once more knocked on the door again.

But the outcome didn’t change.

Eventually I decided to reach for my keys to unlock the door, but as I reached into my bag to retrieve them the door next to mine unlocked. It revealed an old women still dressed in what I presumed to be her pyjamas.

“Young lady, what’s with all the racket?”

“…Uh, I’m just here to see a friend.” Was the best I could come up with in the moment.

“Well, you won’t find them here, nobody even lives in that apartment.”

“Oh, then… I must have gotten the wrong floor I guess, haha…”

“Alright, alright. It’s alright dear everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”

Satisfied, my neighbour turned around and closed the door behind her.

She’s a sweet old lady and occasionally bakes me biscuits, she too is in the camp of ‘annoying me for not having a boyfriend’ along with my mom.

But it looks like she doesn’t know me either…

After half a minute of contemplating whether this was considered a crime or not, I inserted my key into the door, and it unlocked smoothly.

Only to reveal an empty hallway to an empty living room, no furnishings and no decorations.

Dammit…

“Haaaah… This means that, I don’t exist, right?

“It’s not just people’s memory of me, there’s literally no trace of me whatsoever”

I opened up my phone for the third time today and instead navigated to the settings and selected one of my neighbour’s wifi routers and connected to it, the password I had long since figured out was ‘password’.

Opening up a government website I inputted all of my details but predictably the screen only showed that the details were incorrect.

I got up and closed the door I had left open; nobody should notice I was in the apartment anyway.

Making my way back to the empty living room I thought to myself.

‘Shit… is this going to be my life from now on? How can I live like this?’

“…I’m generally much more of a positive person, but this time…”

I silently wept for a while. Completely defeated.

Before long an hour had passed before I had realised it.

“I’ve got to get out of here.” I stated to myself not even knowing where I should go, my parents house back in the countryside maybe?

“I’ve got to get out of here.” I repeated. But how would I explain everything, how would they believe me? If worst comes to worst I may end up having to sell my body…

“I’ve got to get out of here.” Like a mantra I had repeated it again. Only to realise that any and all background noise had disappeared. The low hum of the A/C unit, the TV in the room next door, everything.

I looked up for the first time in a while, uncurling myself from a ball while on the ground, only to find a perfect white room.