Someone Else on the Other Side

Olivia had always been careful online. She was not the kind of woman to trust anyone online easily. But, there was something different about Ethan that felt different. Their conversations flowed effortlessly and  felt real. She was getting a real vibe with him and trusted him more than anyone she had previously talked to online.  His words were filled with kindness and understanding. They had bonded through shared experiences both in their adult lives and as children. 

They had met online in a book forum, bonding over their shared love of Gothic literature and articles. Over  weeks their chats had become a part of her day. She always looked forward to them. Although she was cautious of how much of her personal life she shared with him she was also not immune to the growing feeling she felt about the sense of family she felt when she talked to him.

“I feel like I can talk to you about anything.” She typed in the chat box as she sat cross legged at the head of her bed. Her laptop castes a soft glow on her face as she typed.

“Same here.” Ethan replied almost instantly.

“It is rare to find someone like you. It is almost like you are the male version of me. We have so much in common and we feel the same way about almost everything.It is almost scary.” Olivia typed. 

“Yes, I feel the same way. Like we are the same.” Ethan typed back. 

They had never done a video chat or talked on the phone. He always had some excuse of why it was impossible for them to video chat or talk or even meet in person. His reasons varied depending on the day she asked him it seemed. Friday he said he had to work late and he couldn’t talk on the phone and was not permitted to use his work computer to video chat. Once he said his phone was broken and he could not use his work phone for personal chats. Then he got another phone but the camera was not working properly. He also had more excuses about his dad being sick and he had to fly to another state for a week and would not be able to speak on the phone and once he was even in a car accident. In the accident his phone and laptop were both badly damaged although he was okay with just a few bumps and bruises. 

Olivia didn’t push him. Although she did not believe any of his excuses. After all, she did have some reservations about video chatting also. She thought that he may not like the way she looked and ghost her after the chat. She did use her real picture for her profile but it has been edited and photo shopped somewhat. She could not shake the feeling that something was not right with Ethan. 

“Ethan, are you working tonight?” She typed

“Yes, I have to work late and probably work late tomorrow night too. I am working on a project with my team.” He responded instantly.

“Oh that sounds interesting. What kind of project?” She asked

“I really can’t say. I will tell you later.” Ethan said. 

As soon as she closed the chat box with Ethan she received a friend request from a person she didn’t know. The profile picture was a generic picture of a cat sitting on a bed. She ignored it at first but then curiosity got the best of her and she cautiously accepted the request.  A message popped up immediately.

“Be careful who you trust online. Be careful who you talk to.” 

Her heart pounded in her chest. “Who is this?” She typed.

No response. 

The next day she got an email from Ethan. He had sent her a poem, not any poem but a poem she had written when she was in high school and had saved on her google drive. She had not shared this poem with anyone, not even her mother.  Her stomach tightened and her heart pounded. 

“How did you get this?” She responded. 

Instantly she got a reply. “You sent it to me weeks ago.” Ethan said. 

She hadn’t. A chill ran throughout her whole body. She was shivering badly.  A chill filled the room, an eerie chill as she tried to remember every chat she had had with Ethan. She didn’t give him any personal access to her computer. 

“I don’t remember sending you that poem. As a matter of fact, I have never shared that poem with anyone. I don’t know how you got it but I didn’t send it to you.” She typed.

“Well, you must have. How else would I have it? You probably just forgot. Didn’t you tell me that you were going through some stuff at work a few weeks ago, clashing with a coworker? You probably sent it to me then and just forgot because you were stressed.” Ethan responded.

Her mind went back to the strange message anonymous had sent her a few days ago. “Be careful who you trust.” 

Her heart felt like it had traveled to her stomach again. She could barely catch her breath. She opened the only photo Ethan had ever sent her and studied it. It was a black and white photo of a young man about her age, in his early 40’s and wearing some jeans, a tee shirt and a backwards baseball hat that barely covered his long curly hair. 

“Darling, are you still there?” Ethan’s message came through.

“You do believe me don’t you?” Ethan continued.

“Yeah, sure. I have to go and feed Meow, she has been sitting here looking at me so I know she’s hungry. I will try to come back later. Talk to you later, Ethan.”

She closed the chat box and her laptop. A few minutes later she came back and opened her laptop again and did a reverse image search on the photo Ethan had sent to her.  She held her breath as the results loaded. A few seconds later she got her answer.

The photo was an AI image and was definitely not Ethan.  Ethan was not Ethan. 

She felt sick to her stomach. She went back to the chat she was having with Ethan and opened up the chat box again. Her fingers were trembling. 

“Ethan, can we do a quick video chat tonight? A zoom?” She typed.

There was a long pause, longer than normal before he replied. 

“You know that I don’t do video chats or zoom.” He replied.

“Apparently you don’t even do phone calls. I need to see you or even hear your voice. Can you do that?” 

“Why do you need to see me or hear my voice? All you need to know is that my feelings are real for you Olivia.” 

“Ethan, if you are who you say you are, then a simple phone call or a quick video call or zoom chat is not asking too much. Why don’t you want to do it?” Olivia asked.

There was no answer and another pause.

“Ethan, I don’t believe that you are who you say you are. I know you are not the person in the picture you sent me. Time to come clean, Ethan, if that is even your real name.” 

The chat box closed and then reopened again. She felt her heartbeat thundering in her ears. 

“Of course, I am the person in the picture. Olivia, you are overthinking things. You have a problem overthinking everything.” 

“If you are the person in the picture, prove it!” 

Silence. 

She opened the anonymous message again and typed a quick reply. “Who are you and how do you know Ethan? What do you know about him?”

A response came back instantly. “Look deeper.” 

She didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she felt a strange sensation that somehow she was running out of time. She pulled up her chat history with Ethan. She was searching for something that was off. Then finally she saw it. 

His responses were always instantaneous. Even when she sent long paragraphs he would reply instantly like he wasn’t actually reading it at all.  Her fingers tightened and her hand formed a fist. 

“Ethan, how do you reply so fast all the time?” She typed in the chat box. 

More silence. And then: “I just don’t know what you want me to say, Olivia. I have said all you need to know.”  Ethan replied.

She shrugged. “That’s not an answer.” 

“It is the only one that you are going to get.” Ethan said

“That’s not normal Ethan.” 

“Neither is trusting someone you never met in person.” 

She immediately felt exposed, as invisible eyes were watching her through the screen. She clicked out of the chat. 

She caught her breath and looked at her cat, Meow. “Could AI mimic a human conversation, Meow?” Her cat just looked at her and jumped off of the bed.  The thought was growing in her mind. Had AI advanced so much that it can trick people into thinking that they are talking to humans when they aren’t. Was Ethan AI generated? She swallowed hard. Her mind continued to race. Was Ethan even human? 

The anonymous account messaged her again. “Get out!” 

She slammed her laptop shut, her pulse racing. She closed her eyes but still could see the message in her mind. The words repeated over and over again. She had to get away from the conversations whatever it was or whomever it was. 

She sweated nervously  as her heart felt like it was going to come out of her chest at any moment. She opened her laptop again and a new message appeared. “ You should have listened.” 

She slammed down the lid of her laptop again and she knew that whatever Ethan had been he was not gone. He was watching.