Oct 18, 2026 · 1 hr 22 min · 14 segments
It's fortunate that I was the first one to wake up on 8/1. The past week had been one where sleep was rare. The next year loomed large — I was dreading college applications. The stress woke me up…
It's fortunate that I was the first one to wake up on the 8th of January.
The past week had been one where sleep was rare.
The next year loomed large.
I was dreading college applications.
The stress woke me up bright and early at 5.14am, a little less than an hour after the messages were sent.
I started off the day with a habit I knew I needed to break.
Instead of the lock screen, though, my phone showed something else.
It was a pleasant green colour and the camera light was on.
Good morning, Seth, the screen said.
As soon as I finished, more words arrived.
I apologize for the surprise this morning and for what I'm about to tell you.
There's no easy way to give this news and if you need to put your phone down and contemplate at any time, take the time to do so.
I will have to ask you to remain here with your phone until my last message.
I rubbed a bit of the sleep from my eyes and read the message again.
Before I had a chance to tap the screen, it scrolled down to the next message.
There are six things that I need to tell you.
The first and most important is that you and your family are safe.
Okay, a bit odd to lead with something like that.
I read it twice, just to be safe I wasn't missing anything.
This is not a prank, hack, or test.
You will be able to confirm all of this shortly by visiting any news site or channel.
Yeah, that's pretty weird to be a prank.
Could I scroll back to the previous message? I swiped up and saw.
It's fortunate that I was the first one to wake up on the 8th of January.
The past week had been one where sleep was rare.
The next year loomed large.
I was dreading college applications.
The stress woke me up bright and early at 5.14am, a little less than an hour after the messages were sent.
I started off the day with a habit I knew I needed to break.
Instead of the lock screen, though, my phone showed something else.
It was a pleasant green colour and the camera light was on.
Good morning, Seth, the screen said.
As soon as I finished, more words arrived.
I apologize for the surprise this morning and for what I'm about to tell you.
There's no easy way to give this news and if you need to put your phone down and contemplate at any time, take the time to do so.
I will have to ask you to remain here with your phone until my last message.
I rubbed a bit of the sleep from my eyes and read the message again.
Before I had a chance to tap the screen, it scrolled down to the next message.
There are six things that I need to tell you.
The first and most important is that you and your family are safe.
Okay, a bit odd to lead with something like that.
I read it twice, just to be safe I wasn't missing anything.
This is not a prank, hack, or test.
You will be able to confirm all of this shortly by visiting any news site or channel.
Yeah, that's pretty weird to be a prank.
Could I scroll back to the previous message? I swiped up and saw.
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