@melancholycali

4 weeks ago

I never knew my knowledge in school would be helpful—no, never.

It wasn’t until that fateful day when she had looked at me with those wide, pleading eyes, and trembling fingers that hovered over the keyboard. I didn’t even understand right away.

She kept flicking glances to the others, though they lingered on one. Her own boyfriend. It seemed unprecedented. I didn’t understand.

I wanted to yell at her: ’No one can hear you if you don’t speak! Words. Use your words, for goodness sake!’ But I didn’t.

Though, the thought still lingered:
Why would she be afraid? Let alone of her own boyfriend?

Something didn’t sit right with me. I tried to dismiss it, but my heart kept beating faster. More rapidly. I knew something was wrong. Why was I ignoring it? I chastised myself for it, forcing myself to focus on her strange behavior again.

She was staring at me expectantly now, waiting. My skin was crawling. I wanted to ask: ’What? What is it?’ But I held my tongue. I guess I knew she was trying to be silent on purpose.

That’s when I noticed the pattern.

I looked at the keys she was clicking. The hyphen. The period. Multiple times. It was purposeful.

I watched, trying to ignore the way her other hand fidgeted with her clothing. At some point, I might’ve caught a glimpse of something darker—mottled on her forearm: a bruise, but it was pulled down quickly after.

The pattern went as followed:

First the period. Three times.

Then the hyphen. Three times.

Then the period again. Three times.

Pause.

Then repeat.

Oh, I thought grimly. Oh.

I excused myself from the area, my hand instinctively slipping into my pocket for my phone. That’s when I dialed the exact number she was requesting me to call.

SOS.

EDIT: I added a few more details for better emphasis. This handles a serious topic. I hope I was at least able to teach you a small bit of morse code :)

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