“Explain what?”
“This.” I gesture between us. “Because I know you.”
“No,” she says, firmer now. “You think you do.”
That lands.
Because she’s not wrong.
Not completely.
She shifts her weight, clearly debating whether to walk away.
She should.
Instead, she stays.
Curiosity.
Yeah… that’s going to get her in trouble.
“You said high school,” she says. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Hersh.”
She blinks. “That’s not common.”
“Didn’t think it was.”
She tilts her head slightly, studying me now, really looking.
And there it is again.
That flicker.
Not a memory.
But something close.
“You remember,” I say.
Her eyes snap to mine. “No.”
Too fast.
Too automatic.
Yeah. She felt it.
She just doesn’t trust it.
“I think you’re projecting,” she says, but there’s less certainty behind it now.
I take a step back, giving her space.
“Look,” I say, keeping my voice steady. “Either I’m losing it… or something’s off.”
She exhales. “Those are not the only two options.”
