Touching Myself (audio Only).m4a | 2025 |

The file was buried in a folder labeled Unsorted_2024 . It had no thumbnail, just the generic grey icon of a voice memo. Elias clicked it, expecting a forgotten grocery list or a half-mumbled melody. Instead, the speakers crackled with the sound of static and a shallow, rhythmic breath.

"I'm okay," the voice on the recording said, softer now. "I'm here. I'm solid." touching myself (audio only).m4a

He didn't delete the file. He renamed it Proof.m4a and moved it to his desktop, a small digital anchor for the next time the world felt like it was slipping away. The file was buried in a folder labeled Unsorted_2024

Elias sat still in his darkened office, listening to the ghost of who he used to be. The younger Elias described the texture of his own sweater, the weight of his watch, the way his pulse felt against his thumb. It was a desperate attempt to prove he existed during a year when he had felt invisible. Instead, the speakers crackled with the sound of