I found a phone today. It was on our school’s hallway. It was an old Samsung model and had cracks on one corner of the screen. I opened it to find nothing but the camera, photos, and notes applications. I checked the phone’s gallery first. For the first photos I saw, there were only the same pictures of the walls, floor, or ceiling of the hallway. It wasn’t only the first few photos, I had to scroll for about 30 minutes to reach photos which didn’t have the hallway as the subject. There were pictures of a girl in the same uniform I wore. In all her photos, she didn’t have any emotions on her faces, like as if she was using the camera as a mirror and accidentally pressed the shutter. What piqued my interest, however, was that in all of the pictures, she was in the same hallway as I was in. I saw nothing else of value so I closed the app.
Then, I opened the notes app. This is what I found:
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Day 3. September 10, 2010.
My name is Celine McDougal. I am 18 years old, a senior in high school. Three days ago, I was going home after studying in the library for an exam next week. I was walking down the school corridor when suddenly the lights went out. I freaked out for a second and I stopped walking. After all, the school corridor gets pitch dark without the lights. I used my phone’s flashlight for a while until it came back on after a few minutes. I continued walking.
The thing is, I walked for almost an hour and I could not reach the end of the corridor, the exit. Looking ahead, it felt like the hallway eternally stretched or like I was in a loop. I started running. I ran and ran. Nothing happened. I was still stuck in the same old place.
I panicked and screamed for help for several times. I called my mom, my boyfriend, my friends, my teachers, my classmates, and even the police. No one answered.
I thought I was in dream. I convinced myself I fell asleep while I was studying. I calmed down after a while. I decided to stop and sit down when I noticed I didn’t feel tired at all. This fact relieved me, thinking that I am in a dream.
Hours went by. I asked myself why I wasn’t waking up. I started panicking again.
More hours passed by. Nothing still changed. I was in the same place in the same state. I wasn’t hungry or sleepy. I wasn’t home. The only thing that kept changing was my feelings jumping from calm resolution to panic and anxiety.
And now, everything is still the same as three days ago. I think I crossed into another dimension or I somehow died and this is hell or purgatory. I don’t know. I’m still walking believing I would reach the end of the hallway soon. Hopefully.
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The other proceeding notes contained entries of her actions after that, her thoughts about her family, and most especially, her fears. For the next few days, apparently it was still the same old loop. She kept walking, to no avail. She ran, screamed, prayed, scratched at the walls, tried to knock on or break down doors, and wrote on the notes app. But even after all that, nothing.
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Day 10. September 17, 2010.
I expected to die from thirst or hunger at this point. But like in the beginning, I don’t feel hungry or exhausted. And my phone’s battery never ran out. My time seems to have stopped the second the lights went out on the first day I got stuck here.
Other than that, I’ve confirmed I got separated from the real world, but I don’t know how or why. My calls never go through; I can’t access the internet. I can’t contact anyone outside this hallway. I’m thinking maybe this has something to do with the sci-fi theories about parallel universes or something. Or maybe this is hell and this is my punishment. I don’t know.
I’m still walking, by the way. There’s nothing to do but to continue walking and write here occasionally.
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Day 31. October 9, 2010
I actually want to die now. I’m going crazy being alone here. I have been praying and pleading for something in this tiny world to come and kill me. To take my soul. ANYTHING. Just end this.
I’ve started trying to look for something to kill me since I can’t starve to death. I don’t have a rope or a place to tie a makeshift rope onto so I can hang myself. I have no knife or a cutter to cut my wrists with. No ledge to jump off of. I’m beginning to want to bang my head on the walls or floors.
I don’t care if it hurts, I want to die.
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Day 47.
Killing myself doesn’t work. I tried. banging my heads on the walls don’t work. I can feel the pain, but my body would remain the same.
I can’t do this anymore.
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Day 60.
I’ve started walking again. My only hope now is the exit that I can see. It has always mocked me, but I have nothing left now but that end of the hallway and my thoughts on this phone.
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Day 78.
Still walking. I’ve also started taking photos on my phone to keep me… sane. But I think I’m well past that point.
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Day 99.
I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine. I am Celine.
Please remember my name. Please remember me.
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Day 108.
I’m starting to see things. I’m officially crazy.
Still walking.
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Day ???.
I don’t know what day it is. I stopped making notes after, I don’t know, a year? I mean, what am I going to write here anyway? Everything is still the same. I can just copy my first note and nothing would change. I’ve given up reaching the end but with nothing to do, I can only keep walking. I can’t even die.
I’ve decided to leave my phone here, walk, and hope someone finds this and remember me. That I lived and I existed… somewhere.
I am Celine McDougal.
Goodbye.
--
It ended there. There were no more notes telling me what happened to Celine after that. Is she still walking towards the end of the hallway? I guess I would never know.
After putting her phone in my pocket, I took out my own phone and opened the notes app.
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Day no. 76 (September 10)
I finally finished reading Celine’s notes. Maybe I should start typing down stuff about myself too.
Hello. To whoever is reading this, my name is