Vid_20200814_152347.mp4 -

He glanced back at the screen and realized the video hadn't ended. There were five seconds of black, and then a new sound: a soft, metallic tapping.

The camera pans slowly toward the edge of the woods. For three seconds, there’s nothing but the shimmering heat haze. Then, a flicker. A girl in a bright yellow sundress is standing by the old oak tree. She isn’t moving; she’s looking directly into the lens, her expression unreadable. She raises a hand, not to wave, but to point at the ground beneath her feet. VID_20200814_152347.MP4

Elias looked down at his desk. His phone, sitting face-up, began to tap against the wood. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap. The rhythm matched the video perfectly. He glanced back at the screen and realized