“Message in the Dark” — A Short Story
At sixteen, youngjohn77 had a habit of speaking in ways that made people tilt their heads and wonder if he was joking or trying to audition for a bizarre performance-art show. His classmates didn’t get him. His teachers didn’t get him. Even John himself didn’t fully understand why everything he said came out sounding like an alien studying humans for a school project.
Online, things were different—at least, he thought they were.
Late one night, in that quiet hour where the house seems to hold its breath, John scrolled through the dim glow of his laptop. He was on a forum he shouldn’t have been on—one steeped in bitterness, loneliness, and echo-chamber logic. He didn’t agree with everything there; he just felt less alone reading posts from people who also struggled to talk to others.
Among the usernames, one stood out:
hideandseek
They posted differently from the others—less angry, more confused. More… human.
So John messaged them.
At first it was harmless. Small talk. Questions. His usual weird style of writing. But then he sent something—he wasn’t sure what exactly—that seemed to upset them. A few minutes later, he received a curt reply:
“Dude… what is wrong with you?”
His stomach dropped. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. And then he typed:
“Hello hideandseek, I was wondering… what about my message made you so upset?”
He hesitated before hitting send.
On the other side of the internet, hideandseek stared at the message. They weren’t angry anymore. Mostly tired. They’d come to the forum out of loneliness, too—not hatred. And John’s weirdly formal, overly intense message reminded them of themselves at fourteen. Awkward. Trying too hard. Lost.
They typed back.
“It wasn’t what you said. It was how it sounded. Like you’re echoing all the wrong people on this site.”
John blinked at the screen. His heart pounded.
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. Just… be careful who you listen to here. Some of these guys want you angry because it makes THEM feel better.”
John swallowed. Something clicked inside him—like a door he hadn’t noticed finally opening.
“Do you ever feel like you talk weird?” he typed.
“All the time,” hideandseek replied. “But that doesn’t make you broken. It just means you’re still figuring things out.”
There was a long pause before another message arrived:
“Hey… maybe we should both log off this place for a while.”
John breathed out. A small smile tugged at his lips.
“Yeah. Maybe we should.”
And for the first time in a long time, he closed the tab without feeling like he was leaving something important behind.
“Message in the Dark” — A Short Story
At sixteen, youngjohn77 had a habit of speaking in ways that made people tilt their heads and wonder if he was joking or trying to audition for a bizarre performance-art show. His classmates didn’t get him. His teachers didn’t get him. Even John himself didn’t fully understand why everything he said came out sounding like an alien studying humans for a school project.
Online, things were different—at least, he thought they were.
Late one night, in that quiet hour where the house seems to hold its breath, John scrolled through the dim glow of his laptop. He was on a forum he shouldn’t have been on—one steeped in bitterness, loneliness, and echo-chamber logic. He didn’t agree with everything there; he just felt less alone reading posts from people who also struggled to talk to others.
Among the usernames, one stood out:
hideandseek
They posted differently from the others—less angry, more confused. More… human.
So John messaged them.
At first it was harmless. Small talk. Questions. His usual weird style of writing. But then he sent something—he wasn’t sure what exactly—that seemed to upset them. A few minutes later, he received a curt reply:
“Dude… what is wrong with you?”
His stomach dropped. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. And then he typed:
“Hello hideandseek, I was wondering… what about my message made you so upset?”
He hesitated before hitting send.
On the other side of the internet, hideandseek stared at the message. They weren’t angry anymore. Mostly tired. They’d come to the forum out of loneliness, too—not hatred. And John’s weirdly formal, overly intense message reminded them of themselves at fourteen. Awkward. Trying too hard. Lost.
They typed back.
“It wasn’t what you said. It was how it sounded. Like you’re echoing all the wrong people on this site.”
John blinked at the screen. His heart pounded.
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. Just… be careful who you listen to here. Some of these guys want you angry because it makes THEM feel better.”
John swallowed. Something clicked inside him—like a door he hadn’t noticed finally opening.
“Do you ever feel like you talk weird?” he typed.
“All the time,” hideandseek replied. “But that doesn’t make you broken. It just means you’re still figuring things out.”
There was a long pause before another message arrived:
“Hey… maybe we should both log off this place for a while.”
John breathed out. A small smile tugged at his lips.
“Yeah. Maybe we should.”
And for the first time in a long time, he closed the tab without feeling like he was leaving something important behind.
Moved into ratings, post stuff like this in designated ratings subforum
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are you on cooldownWait an hour and ill do it.
mah appeal and sheeit


