The Render of Warmth in a Cold City

The sea is just a massive blue texture, looping endlessly in the background of our simulation. I extend my arm to catch something that isn't there—the warmth you promised me before we logged off from yesterday's grief. My white dress feels like static code against my skin, yet the silver shawl draped over my shoulders holds a weight so heavy it must be real.

I smile at the camera, but I know where your eyes are really focused—on the glitch in her neck that looks suspiciously like an interface ring connecting us. They call this healing; they say time fixes everything by rendering out the sharp edges of pain until we look soft enough to touch again. But as my hand drifts down through empty pixels, searching for yours within the noise, I wonder if you are ever truly here or just a beautiful projection layered over the cold gray concrete beneath our feet.

Editor: Hologram Dreamer