The Ink of Another by M.V.

The heavy paper with the gold stamp lay on the wooden desk.

It was an invitation to a big party, a ticket to the successful life you had always wanted. But looking at it made your throat feel dry and hot, as if you were breathing in smoke. You tried to take a deep breath, but your chest felt tight and heavy. The air just would not go into your lungs.

Yesterday, the art gallery was very loud. Camera flashes went off like bright lightning against the white walls. Art experts stood around the main painting, calling it a work of "genius" and full of "real soul." You stood in the center, nodding and forcing a fake smile. But every time you looked at the bottom right corner of the painting-where your own initials were written in fresh black ink-you felt sick to your stomach.

You looked past the crowd toward the door. He was standing there, his coat wet from the rain. He didn't scream or make a scene. He just looked at the painting. It was the same design of shadows he had spent three months working on in his sketchbook while you watched him. He looked at your signature, then looked into your eyes. He wasn't angry; his eyes were just empty, erasing ten years of friendship and late-night coffees. Then, he walked out into the storm.

Now, your apartment was completely quiet, but the silence felt louder than the gallery's applause. A sharp, painful ringing filled your ears. Your stomach hurt, and you couldn't even think about food. You turned around in bed, but the blanket felt rough like sandpaper, and the pillow felt as hard as a stone under your head.

Suddenly, a bright blue light cut through the dark. Your phone vibrated on the table with a loud rattle. His name was flashing on the screen. Your hand shook so badly that you knocked over a glass of water, and the sound of it breaking was as loud as a gunshot. Your heart beat fast and hard, like a trapped bird. You wanted to answer, but your fingers froze just inches away. The screen went black. You lay back down in the dark, trapped in a trap you built yourself.