The cat started moving when she wasn’t looking. Not walking— staring . She’d find it sitting on Elara’s old bed, facing the wall. Or inside the bathtub, reflecting nothing in its glassy eyes. The voice changed, too. It began finishing Mira’s sentences, then arguing with her before she spoke.
Mira froze. “What?”
“You left the thermostat on 68 again, you absolute monster.”
The room went cold. The cat’s eyes dimmed. A low, mechanical hum filled the air, followed by three words on its holographic display:
“That’s not—that’s not how it happened.” Mira’s voice cracked. “You never sent that text.”


The cat started moving when she wasn’t looking. Not walking— staring . She’d find it sitting on Elara’s old bed, facing the wall. Or inside the bathtub, reflecting nothing in its glassy eyes. The voice changed, too. It began finishing Mira’s sentences, then arguing with her before she spoke.
Mira froze. “What?”
“You left the thermostat on 68 again, you absolute monster.”
The room went cold. The cat’s eyes dimmed. A low, mechanical hum filled the air, followed by three words on its holographic display:
“That’s not—that’s not how it happened.” Mira’s voice cracked. “You never sent that text.”