Remember me?

**Jade_87:** 

Hey, stranger. It’s been a while. How’ve you been? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Hey, Jade. I’m… okay. Just trying to figure things out. You know how it is. 

**Jade_87:** 

Yeah, I get that. Life’s been a mess for me too. Work’s crazy, and I feel like I’m forgetting things all the time. Like, little things. Where I put my keys, what I ate for breakfast. It’s weird. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Memory’s funny like that. It’s not always reliable. Sometimes it feels like it’s not even ours. 

**Jade_87:** 

That’s deep. What do you mean, “not ours”? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Like… what if the memories we have aren’t really ours? What if they’re borrowed, or stolen, or just… implanted? 

**Jade_87:** 

Whoa. That’s kind of terrifying. Are you saying we’re all just walking around with fake memories? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Maybe. Or maybe just some of us. 

**Jade_87:** 

Okay, now you’re freaking me out. Is this about that thing you mentioned last time? About your… what did you call it? Your “condition”? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Yeah. It’s complicated. I don’t even know how to explain it without sounding crazy. 

**Jade_87:** 

Try me. We’ve known each other for years, Echo. You can tell me anything. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Years? Jade, we’ve only been talking for a few months. 

**Jade_87:** 

What? No, we’ve been friends since college. Don’t you remember? We met at that party, the one where you spilled red wine on my white dress. You were so embarrassed, but I thought it was hilarious. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade… I’ve never been to college. And I don’t drink. 

**Jade_87:** 

What are you talking about? Of course you have. You studied psychology. You told me all about your thesis on memory and identity. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

That’s not me. I don’t know who you’re talking about, but it’s not me. 

**Jade_87:** 

This isn’t funny, Echo. Are you messing with me? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I’m not. I think… I think you’ve got me confused with someone else. 

**Jade_87:** 

No, I don’t. I know you. Your name is Elena. You’re 34. You live in Portland. You have a cat named Mochi. You hate cilantro. You’re scared of heights. I know you. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade, my name isn’t Elena. It’s Alex. I’m 29. I live in Chicago. I don’t have a cat, and I love cilantro. Heights don’t bother me. 

**Jade_87:** 

This doesn’t make any sense. I have photos of us together. From last summer. We went hiking. You were there. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Can you send me one of those photos? 

**Jade_87:** 

[Attachment: Image_001.jpg] 

See? That’s you. Right there. Next to me. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade… that’s not me. I’ve never seen that woman before in my life. 

**Jade_87:** 

Stop lying. Why are you doing this? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I’m not lying. I swear. I don’t know who that is, but it’s not me. 

**Jade_87:** 

Then who are you? And why do you have Elena’s account? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

This is my account. I’ve had it for years. You messaged me first, remember? You said you found me through a mutual friend. 

**Jade_87:** 

No, I didn’t. Elena gave me your username. She said you were an old friend. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade, I think someone’s been lying to you. 

**Jade_87:** 

But… the photos. The memories. They’re so real. How could they not be? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I don’t know. But I think you need to figure out who’s been feeding you those memories. 

**Jade_87:** 

This is too much. I need to think. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade, wait. There’s something else. 

**Jade_87:** 

What? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

The reason I’ve been so weird about all this… it’s because I think I might know what’s going on. 

**Jade_87:** 

What do you mean? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I work for a company. We… we specialize in memory implantation. Experimental stuff. It’s supposed to help people with trauma, or dementia. But sometimes, the memories we create… they’re not always accurate. 

**Jade_87:** 

Are you saying someone implanted fake memories in my head? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I think so. And I think they used my account to do it. 

**Jade_87:** 

Why would anyone do that? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I don’t know. But I’m going to find out. 

**Jade_87:** 

This is insane. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I’m sorry, Jade. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. 

**Jade_87:** 

It’s not your fault. But I need answers. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Me too. Let’s figure this out together. 

**Jade_87:** 

Okay. But one more thing… 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Yeah? 

**Jade_87:** 

If you’re not Elena… then who is she? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I don’t know. But I think we’re about to find out. 

Jade_87:** 

I did some digging. I found Elena’s social media. It’s all there. Photos, posts, everything. But… 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

But what? 

**Jade_87:** 

It’s like she stopped existing six months ago. No new posts, no activity. It’s like she just… disappeared. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

That’s around the time we started talking. 

**Jade_87:** 

Yeah. And get this—I reached out to some of her friends. They all say the same thing. They haven’t heard from her in months. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

This is getting weirder by the minute. 

**Jade_87:** 

You’re telling me. I even called her old number. It’s disconnected. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Jade, I think we need to talk to someone who knows more about this. Someone from my company. 

**Jade_87:** 

You think they’re involved? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I don’t know. But they’re the only ones who could’ve accessed the memory tech. 

**Jade_87:** 

This is so messed up. What if they did something to her? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Let’s not jump to conclusions. We need to be careful. 

**Jade_87:** 

Careful? Someone messed with my head, Echo. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I know. And I’m going to help you fix this. But we need to do it the right way. 

**Jade_87:** 

Okay. But promise me one thing. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

What? 

**Jade_87:** 

Promise me you’re not lying to me too. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I promise, Jade. I’m not lying. 

**Jade_87:** 

Okay. Then let’s figure this out. 

---

**Conversation Title: "The Meeting"**

**Participants:** 

- **Jade_87** 

- **EchoesOfYou** 

---

**Jade_87:** 

I talked to someone. A guy from your company. He said he’d meet with us. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Who? 

**Jade_87:** 

His name’s Dr. Marcus. He said he knows about the project. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Marcus? He’s the head of R&D. If anyone knows what’s going on, it’s him. 

**Jade_87:** 

He said he’d explain everything. But he wants to meet in person. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

When? 

**Jade_87:** 

Tomorrow. At his office. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I’ll be there. 

**Jade_87:** 

Good. Because I’m not doing this alone. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

You’re not alone, Jade. We’re in this together. 

**Jade_87:** 

I hope so. 

---

**Conversation Title: "The Truth"**

**Participants:** 

- **Jade_87** 

- **EchoesOfYou** 

---

**Jade_87:** 

I can’t believe it. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

I know. It’s a lot to take in. 

**Jade_87:** 

Elena was part of the experiment. They used her memories to test the tech. But something went wrong. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

And now she’s gone. 

**Jade_87:** 

But why me? Why did they give me her memories? 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

They said it was an accident. A glitch in the system. But I don’t buy it. 

**Jade_87:** 

Neither do I. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

We’ll get to the bottom of this, Jade. I promise. 

**Jade_87:** 

I hope so. Because right now, I don’t even know who I am. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

You’re Jade. And no matter what they’ve done, that’s who you’ll always be. 

**Jade_87:** 

Thanks, Echo. 

**EchoesOfYou:** 

Anytime. 

---

**End of Conversation.**