SLL40: GHOSTED 已讀不回

He left her on read. But she’s still texting…

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GHOSTED

(a short story in six texts)

March 15 - Read
Hey… it’s me.
I know it’s been a while. And things have been weird.
Hope you’re doing good. Call me sometime, ok?

April 1 - Read
It’s still me.
I saw the cherry blossoms are blooming. Remember last spring?
You said you'd take me back there. Maybe this year?

April 15 - Read
Hiya. It’s Emma again. Please don’t ghost me. Just… wondering how you’re doing.

May 1 - Read

I get it. You’re busy.
But I miss hearing your voice. Just send a "hi", if you have time.
Anyway, take care.

May 15 - Read
You don’t have to reply. I just wanted to say I’m sorry.
For leaving the way I did. I didn’t want to.
Really.

May 16 – Reply

Stop texting me. I don’t know who you are, but this is cruel. This number belonged to my ex. … Before the accident.

His phone rang. The screen flashed: “What accident?”

Epilogue

In the world of digital love and loss, ghosting has become heartbreak’s new silence. One moment you're sharing memes, dreams, and late-night confessions — the next, he vanishes. No message. No goodbye.

You’re left on read and left hanging, with nothing but unanswered messages. Echoes in a dead thread.

But what if the ghosted became the ghost?

Emma didn’t mean to go dark. She didn’t choose to disappear. She died — suddenly, unfairly — with so much left unsaid. And yet, something in her held on. Maybe it was love. Maybe regret. Maybe the human need not to be forgotten.

So, she did what the living do. She texted. And waited.

She didn’t want revenge. She just wanted a hi. A trace of the connection they once shared.
Instead, he gave her what all jilted lovers fear most: radio silence.
Until her messages came

back

to haunt him.

已讀不回

（六則短訊構成的故事）

3月15日 - 已讀
嘿...是我。
知道很久沒聯絡了。最近發生了很多事。
希望你過得好。有空打給我好嗎？

4月1日 - 已讀
還是我。
看到櫻花開了。記得去年春天嗎？
你說要帶我回去看。今年也許？

4月15日 - 已讀
哈囉。又是艾瑪。拜託別已讀不回。
只是...想知道你過得怎樣。

5月1日 - 已讀
我明白。你很忙。
但我想念你的聲音。有空傳個「嗨」就好。
總之，保重。

5月15日 - 已讀
不用回沒關係。
只想說對不起。
為我的不告而別。
真的不是自願的。
真的。

5月16日 - 回覆
別再傳了。不管你是誰，這樣太殘忍。
這號碼以前是我前女友車禍前用的。

手機鈴聲響起。螢幕閃現：「什麼車禍？」

後記

在數位時代的愛與失去中，已讀不回成了心碎的新靜默。前一刻還分享著迷因、夢想與深夜告白——轉眼間，他消失了。沒有訊息。沒有道別。
你被留在已讀狀態，懸吊在未回覆的訊息裡。如同一串死寂對話中的回聲。
但若是被消失者才是真正的幽靈？
艾瑪無意人間蒸發。死亡突如其來且不公地帶走她，留下未盡的話語。某種執念讓她徘徊——或許是愛，是遺憾，或許只是人類不想被遺忘的本能。
於是她做了生者會做的事。傳訊息。等待。
她不求報復，只想要一聲招呼，一絲往日連結的痕跡。
他卻給了她所有失戀者最恐懼的禮物：徹底的沉默。
直到她的訊息
反過來
纏上了他。

Lost in translation: The English version depends on the wordplay of “ghosting” (as both digital silence and literal haunting) and haunting, which is lost in the Chinese translations of 已讀不回 (yǐ dú bù huí, “read-no-reply”) and 纏上 (chán shàng, “entangle”). But the Chinese version gains some spiritual resonance with idioms like 人間蒸發 (rén jiān zhēng fā, “vanish from the world”) and 執念 (zhí niàn, “karmic obsession”).

Vocabulary

1. Ghosting, 已讀不回 (yǐ dú bù huí)

2. "Left on read", 被留在已讀狀態 (bèi liú zài yǐ dú zhuàng tài)

3. Texted, 傳訊息 (chuán xùn xī)

4. Reply, 回覆 (huí fù)

5. "Dead thread", 死寂對話 (sǐ jí duì huà)

6. [Text] message, 訊息 (xùn xī)

7. Heartbreak, 心碎 (xīn suì)

8. Confessions, 告白 (gào bái)

9. "Jilted lover", 失戀者 (shī liàn zhě)

10. Cruel, 殘忍 (cán rěn)

11. Haunt, 纏上 (chán shàng; Lit. "entangle" or lingering)

12. Cherry blossoms, 櫻花 (yīng huā)

13. Ex, 前女友 (qián nǚ yǒu)

14. Die, 過世 (guò shì; respectful)

15. Ghost or spirit, 幽靈 (yōu líng)

Writer’s Note

This story is an homage to the chilling lowkey sadness of Reman’s song “Phone Call” (ReMan - Phone Call). Though the song isn’t about ghosts, it captures something just as eerie: the longing and pain of being ignored by someone you once mattered to. The first message in this story is borrowed almost word-for-word from the lyrics.

What strikes you with the song is the way the woman tries to sound breezy, casual—even cheerful—while her real emotions churn underneath. It’s a familiar game we play when we sense a relationship is already over, but we can’t bear to admit it. We pretend we’re fine and send lighthearted messages, hoping beyond hope.

This story simply imagines: what if the one who was ghosted… became the ghost?