When Elena stumbles upon her professor in the university attic, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that challenges her perception of herself. As the investigation unfolds and the messages on her phone keep coming in, she begins to question reality and what it means to be brave.

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Elena’s voice trembled as it echoed through the cold, dusty attic. It felt like her heart was going to rip her ribcage in pieces and fly out of the window with how hard it was beating, but all she could think of was the body lying across the room. How weirdly unmoving it was. How weirdly lifeless her professor looked.  

“Professor…?” she repeated, this time with more uncertainty. Elena was too frightened to come any closer, but it felt wrong to stand there and do nothing. Even if it was some kind of Halloween prank, she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep through the night if she kept her distance.  

After what seemed like centuries Elena had finally managed to take a step back, and soon after she was already running towards the door. Stumbling a few times, she burst back into the corridor, catching the janitor off guard.  

“Is everything alright?” he asked, his eyes moving up and down and then all overElena’s body as if checking for possible injuries.  

She tried opening her mouth to say something. Tried screaming at the top of her lungs that no, something was not right, there was a seemingly lifeless body lying in the middle of the attic that looked way too much like the professor she just had a conversation with the night before. Elena was panicking, but she couldn’t do or say anything, besides soundlessly opening and closing her mouth like a fish, gasping for air.  

“A body,” she whispered after a few seconds of struggling. It felt like she was tongue-tied and a knot in her throat was about to block her airways completely.  

“A body?” the janitor raised his eyebrow. “Was it a mannequin or something?”  

Elena was already frantically shaking her head before he could even finish his sentence.  

“No, a real body. W-we need to call.”  

“Call who?”  

Elena looked like she was about to faint, strands of her dark hair clinging to her skin, making it seem even paler in contrast as she shook her head repeatedly, trying to banish the rising tide of fear. One glance at her shaking hands grabbing desperately at her jacket made it clear who she wanted him to call.  

“Why don’t you go down for this?” the janitor said. He lightly touched Elena’s shoulder to try to comfort her at least a little bit and led her back to the elevator. “I’ll check the attic and come downstairs too, okay?”  

It didn’t take too long for the police to arrive. Elena was sitting on one of the couches on the ground floor of the Horizon building with a cup of water in her hand as the people around her ran around in panic. The university made an announcement and cancelled all of the classes for the rest of the day. They didn’t want this situation to get even more attention from curious students and bystanders, so the only people who were allowed to stay on campus were the staff, policemen, and Elena. The initial shock had already faded at that point, leaving her body cold and tired from stress.

The numbness overtook her mind just as much as her legs as she sat there, quietly waiting for news. She didn’t want to think about the ambulance still standing outside of the building even though the paramedics had already carried out a black bag about 10 minutes ago.  

Elena’s hands trembled as she reached for her phone, her cold fingers hovering over the screen in hesitation. It took her a few seconds to finally unlock it and open the chat with her professor, but all of that newfound bravery evaporated as soon as she saw “last seen online 4 days ago” on the top of her screen. Elena quickly turned the phone off and threw it across the couch, creating as much distance as she could.  

“Do you mind if I join you?” someone said from behind her back. Elena jumped up in surprise, before slowly turning her head and nodding at the officer in front of her. It was a middle-aged woman, maybe in her forties. She looked kind.  

“I’m assuming you’re not here to deliver good news,” murmured Elena. The officer shook her head with a pained but soft smile.  

“I’m very sorry you had to be the one to find him. We don’t know that much yet, but I can assure you that it wasn’t a crime, so you don’t have to worry about your safety. There were no signs of struggle. We won’t know much until the autopsy results, but what most likely happened was a seizure of some sort. His phone was out of reach so he couldn’t even call for help.”  

“What about his family? Did no one notice he was gone?”  

“It’s only been a few days. He lived alone, and from what his colleagues told us, it was normal for him to not reply for a few days, especially right after vacation.”  

“So, they just assumed he was busy.” Elena couldn’t find the strength to keep looking at the officer, her gaze slowly dropping to her hands. They weren’t shaking anymore.  

“Yeah. It would’ve probably taken them a few more days to start looking. It’s a good thing that you found him. I think he would’ve wanted that.”  

The officer’s words rang in Elena’s head as she looked at the phone lying on the other side of the couch, and for the first time today she felt at least a little at peace.  

Perhaps he did want that, after all.  

All of a sudden, the phone buzzed across the couch cushions, jolting Elena from her daze. Her heart leaped into her throat as she stared at it in disbelief, the sound of a Teams notification playing in her head over and over again.  

The officer might’ve noticed her hesitation, as she reached out and took Elena’s hand into her own. “Do you want me to get that for you?” she asked kindly. 

Elena quickly shook her head but kept her eyes locked on the phone. When she finally gathered the courage to pick it up, she gently wriggled her hand out of the officer’s grip and reached out across the couch. The phone was colder than she expected it to be, and she flinched slightly before failing to enter her password three consecutive tries. Elena didn’t even notice when her hands began to shake again.  

A Teams notification glowed on her screen and as much as she dreaded finding out who sent it, Elena opened the chats.  

“I couldn’t leave without anyone knowing. Thank you and take care of yourself, Elena.”  

“Is everything okay?” the officer asked.  

Elena didn’t know how to answer. Was it safe to tell a police officer that it was the ghost of her dead professor who sent her to the attic? Would she think Elena was out of her mind if she told her that he was still texting her? The story was so complicated, she wasn’t even sure where to begin…  

“Yeah,” she finally said. “I think it’s going to be okay.”  

“Are you okay biking home, or should we take you?”  

Elena blinked at the officer, still clutching her phone as if it might slip through her fingers. Biking home? She thought about pedalling through the autumn streets of Breda with nothing but the wind and light rain accompanying her and her thoughts. It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. 

“I think I’d rather not be alone right now,” she admitted quietly.  

“That is understandable. We can give you a ride in a few minutes. If you want, you can wait outside.”  

Elena managed a soft smile of gratitude before looking down at her phone again. The message was there just a few seconds ago, but now that she was trying to find it again it seemed to be completely erased from everything besides her memory. Perhaps the officer bringing her home was a good idea.  

With her bag on her shoulder and still clutching a phone in her hand, Elena stood up from the couch. Her feet felt wobbly and unsteady, like a thousand needles piercing through her skin at the same time and Elena had to push through the pain to keep going. She took a few more steps forward, but before she could walk too far away the officer stopped her again, putting a light hand on her shoulder.  

“You know, you did a good thing. Maybe you didn’t plan on finding him, but you should still be proud of yourself for doing that. And for calling us. It takes courage.”  

Elena didn’t respond right away. It didn’t feel like courage or something to be proud of. It was nothing but panic, curiosity, and a lot of stupidity. But maybe the officer was right. After all, not everyone is curious enough to sign up for a night class to begin with.  

“Thank you,” she whispered, and for a second it felt like she wasn’t alone with the officer in that building. She might’ve been wrong, but it seemed like another, deeper voice was saying “thank you” too.  

The End.

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