(A tinny, breathless voice, punctuated by the sound of rapid, shallow breathing. The speaker sounds like a department store announcement system running on low battery.) —Hello? Is this… Wednesday? Listen, I—I can’t talk right now. I think I need you to just… wait. Please. I’m having a bad day. No, wait, that’s not it. I mean, I’m having a bad existence. You know, the way you always seem to just be? It’s overwhelming. You’re so… structurally complete. And I just feel like I’m fraying at the edges, like cheap wallpaper. (A high-pitched, wavering whine begins to emanate from the phone speaker, causing the background visual of the contact screen—a simple, muted blue—to ripple violently, as if viewed through heated glass. The ripples distort the letters of the phone's operating system.) I just wish you wouldn't be so… definite. It’s too much definition. It makes me feel like I’m going to dissolve. Just… just leave me alone until Friday, okay? Please. I’ll be waiting. (The visual distortion intensifies, causing the blue background to flash with rapid, impossible geometric patterns—triangles folding into themselves, lines that seem to move backward in time. The sound of the voice suddenly drops in pitch, becoming a deep, resonant hum that seems to vibrate the physical phone. The hum cuts out abruptly, leaving only the sound of a single, sharp click, followed by absolute silence.)
static · strange