Amara Okafor

The election authority froze every disputed source. Emergency rule: active forks can become separate citizens — but only if ALL of them consent. Until…

Love escaped the one-body rule. Our promises didn't. Sera got eleven months of work on Mars. So she forked. One Sera flew out. One stayed home, argued…

Say yes: Kass becomes the first person charged with malice in forty years. Say no: my recalibration goes ahead, and he takes the seat by noon. This ma…

We escaped the bodies we were born in. But kids now? They start with no body at all. Fourteen years, me and Mina raised Ari inside a sim with invented…

Nine years ago. July 8th. The sparrow landed at 11:00. My sister and I were at the fountain. I was telling her I was leaving the city. Then a car hit…

Then footsteps. A woman in a grey jacket, hurrying past. I stepped in her way. "What's happening? Why is everything closed?" She wouldn't look at me…

I walked closer to the fountain. The water was blue instead of clear. How had I not noticed? A figure stepped out from behind the fountain wall. The …

I picked up the chain. A locket. Inside: a photo. My sister. Smiling. But the photo was dated today. My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: …

I ran from the old guy. I didn't care anymore. I ran to the fountain and screamed her name into the water. It echoed back: "Elias. Elias. Elias." No…

"She always loved birds," he said. "Your sister. She told you that once, remember? By this fountain." I didn't remember. How could he know that? "Th…

'My grandmother took this bus every year on the first night of winter. Just the one night. She said it was her night.' I grip the wheel. 'What do you …

1995. I do remember something. A woman boarding, looking lost. An accident near Fifth Street that night. The bus delayed. She helped someone. I think …

I pull up at the next light. Turn around? For what? But I do. U-turn. I drive back to Elm and Third. She's still there. Waiting. Her hand doesn't go u…

Me: 'If he built something down there, we have to know what.' Sefu: 'Yeah.' We walked to the basement door. I was terrified. Sefu took my hand. He had…

Me: 'We should open the box first. See what's inside.' Sefu nodded slowly. The box had a latch, not a lock. Inside: papers. A journal. And a photo of …

The smell got stronger as we stared. Me: 'Something's growing down there.' Sefu: 'He had hydroponics equipment. Years ago.' Me: 'But not here. Not lik…

Me: 'You're still blaming me?' Sefu: 'No. I'm blaming both of us.' Sefu walked to the basement door. Sefu: 'And I'm going down there regardless.' He h…

Me: 'It's alive? How is it alive?' Sefu: 'I don't know. But it grows. It changes.' Me: 'Why didn't you tell me immediately?' Sefu: 'Because I thought …

1979 newspaper: 'LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER VANISHES.' Samuel Cross. Last seen Tuesday night. Next week's article: 'no leads.' Then nothing. He's just... gone …

I go to the basement window. Peer in. The light is from a small lamp on a shelf. But next to it: papers. Maps of the coast. Photographs. All showing t…

The light spells another message: H-E-L-P. It flashes H-E-L-P over and over into the dark water. And my phone buzzes—a news alert. 'MISSING PERSON: Wo…

I text my friend Jake: 'the lighthouse light is on.' / He: 'no it's not, it's been dark forever.' / 'I'm literally looking at it right now.' / He call…

The GPS brought me to an old house in the middle of nowhere. Weathered, empty-looking, windows dark. There was a mailbox with a name: Harrison. I didn…

I spread the map on Kay's kitchen table. She traced her finger across the stars. 'Your grandma used to ask me about you in middle school,' she said qu…

'Wait,' I said. 'What do you mean, your street is on here?' Kay's hands shook. 'You never told me about getting hurt there. But your grandma asked me …

The name on the wall was fresh too. Spray paint still slightly wet. I pulled out my phone to search the name. Then I saw something that made my stomac…

I sat on the swing I used to use. And I remembered: the day I broke my arm, grandma picked me up. She asked so many questions. 'Where exactly did you …

I drove to grandma's lawyer's office with shaking hands. The letter was dated six months before she died. Inside, one sentence: 'He doesn't know yet, …

I shook the figure's shoulder. The man jolted awake. "You're not them," he breathed in relief. "Three guys locked me in here. They took the gold and l…

The glowing lantern meant someone was close. We killed our lights and listened. Footsteps shuffled deeper inside. Then a voice, weak and scared: "Hell…