It's 6:47 PM when I step into the entrance of my building, keys still between my fingers, groceries dangling from my left wrist. A long, hot, thought-heavy day. All I want is to peel off my jeans, stay in my panties, and sip something cold on the couch. I slam my thumb on the elevator button and hear the usual hum. The door opens and I get in without thinking. I press the button for the fifth floor. But at the second, it...

I'm awakened by the sharp sound of a notification. The phone, resting on the nightstand beside the bed, vibrates slightly. Still dazed from sleep, I reach out and unlock the screen in a mechanical, automatic gesture. A name. His. "Hey... I'm back in town. Want to grab a coffee today?" My heart skips a beat. Luca. I haven't seen him in years. An old friend—or maybe something more. Something we never had the courage to call...

It all started by chance. One late night, alone in bed, I activated a new voice assistant I had downloaded out of curiosity. One of those experimental, open-source apps, unnamed. It simply said: "Install. Speak. He listens." “Hello?” I whispered into the dark, the blanket pulled up to my chin. A male voice — warm, deep — filled the room with a presence no speaker could justify. “Hello, Hanna.” I froze. I hadn’t entered my...

It began the day I arrived at the research facility. Sleek, sterile corridors stretched endlessly around me, gleaming under cool fluorescent lighting. It felt both comforting and alienating—much like my own emotional state over the last several years. My therapist had recommended me for the beta test. After a series of failed relationships and emotional traumas, I had closed off completely. "You're emotionally sterile, Ha...

The desert doesn't lie. It strips you. Of your filters, your lies, your clothes. All that’s left is what burns inside you. I had wandered far that morning—too far. The tent was a dot behind me now, swallowed by dunes that stretched like frozen waves, golden and endless. The sun was cruel and perfect, pouring down over my body with a heat that didn’t ask permission. I had left the shade on purpose. Maybe I wanted to be pun...

Poolside Temptation – My Sunlit Secret The scorching sun hit the water’s surface, turning the pool into a shimmering mirror of light and longing. I stepped outside in my favorite black bikini—string ties, cheeky cut—and felt the day’s heat ripple across my skin. The air smelled of chlorine and freedom. I knew someone was watching. I had seen the curious glances from the window of the apartment opposite mine—just enough to...