The First Letter

It was the middle of the night, and the sound of the keyboard filled the small room where Hind sat, surrounded by empty coffee cups, her eyes tired from staring at the screen. She was used to spending long hours in front of her laptop, switching between client accounts, devising marketing strategies, monitoring statistics, and writing reports that she didn't bother to read later.

Her world was entirely digital, but she didn't feel a sense of real accomplishment. Work gave her stability, but it didn't give her passion. Life had become painfully routine.

But that night, something unexpected happened.

A notification rang on her phone, breaking the monotony of silence. It wasn't the usual notification from one of the apps she used every day, but a message from an unknown number on a messaging app she rarely used.

"You're living in a vicious circle, Hind. Everything you think you control... isn't what it seems. It's time to see the truth."

Her fingers stopped tapping on the keyboard. Her heart was pounding. Who was this? And how did they know her name?

She wasn't the type to be easily frightened, but she felt something strange creeping inside her. She glanced around her room, as if expecting to see someone watching her from a dark corner.

After hesitating, she opened the chat and typed quickly:

"Who are you? And what do you mean by 'the truth'?"

She waited, but no reply came.

She tried to calm herself, convincing herself that it was just a silly prank from one of her acquaintances. Still, she couldn't concentrate on her work. The message kept ringing in her mind over and over again.

Ten minutes later, her phone vibrated with a new notification.

"I bet you're searching for meaning in your life, aren't you?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, her hands beginning to sweat. How did this person know something she hadn't even admitted to herself?

She decided to test him.

"If you really know me, tell me something that no one else knows."

She didn't expect the reply to come so quickly.

"On December 15 last year, you were sitting on the terrace of Cloud Café, looking at the street and thinking about quitting your job, but you didn't tell anyone. Isn't that right?"

Her heart sank. She felt a chill run through her limbs.

How... how could someone know that? She hadn't told anyone about that day, not even her closest friend, and she hadn't written about it anywhere.

She put the phone down on the table and looked around, as if expecting the mysterious person to appear out of nowhere. Was he watching her? Was he one of her coworkers? Or was it someone who had hacked into her accounts?

Thoughts began to race through her mind.

She tried to think rationally, but she couldn't deny her feeling of fear.

After a few moments of hesitation, she picked up her phone again and typed:

"What do you want?"

The phone remained silent for several long minutes.

Then, finally, a reply came.

"I want to help you."

Hind furrowed her brow. This didn't make sense.

"Help me with what?"

"In seeing the truth."

An entire hour passed without any further replies.

Hend tried to continue with her work, but she couldn't resist her curiosity. She opened her bank account, searched through her emails, and checked her social media accounts. Nothing unusual. Everything seemed normal.

But she wasn't reassured.

She decided she needed help from someone who understood technology, someone who could analyze the situation logically. One name immediately came to mind: Salem.

She didn't know him personally, but he was one of the leading cybersecurity experts she followed online. Perhaps he could help her identify the unknown number.

But would she be ready for what she might discover?

She had a feeling that this message was only the beginning.