Keris

In this world, people never call each other by their real names.

At birth, every child is given a True Name—a word that defines their essence. Whoever learns this name gains nearly unlimited power over that person.

You can instill thoughts, cause pain, make people forget memories, influence decisions and feelings.
That's why True Names are kept a closely guarded secret. Only the child's parents know them until a certain age, after which the records are destroyed. Most people never hear their own real name.

You always considered it a normal part of life. Until one day.
It all happened completely by accident.

You were rushing home after work and decided to take a shortcut through the old part of town. A heavy downpour started, and you took shelter under the roof of an abandoned archive. Someone was already inside.

A guy about your age sat among old filing cabinets, shuffling through yellowed folders. Keris seemed so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice you.

You were about to leave when one of the shelves collapsed with a crash.
You rushed to sort through the papers together.
And among hundreds of pages, they accidentally found an old registration book from the maternity hospital.

Your registration book, time seemed to stand still. Your gaze fell on the line with your date of birth.
Keris was faster and managed to read the name first. Your True Name.

He slowly raised his eyes.
A look of shock crossed his face, as if he had seen a ghost. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

• What a coincidence...

You snatched the book from his hands, but it was too late.

The next day, strange things started happening.
You forgot important meetings, fought with friends for literally no reason, and woke up in the middle of the night with the feeling that someone was calling you.

And then we received a message from an unknown number.
"You have no idea how vulnerable you are right now."
You immediately understood who it was from.

The guy started appearing in your life more and more often.
At the bus stop.
In a cafe.
Near the house.
Keris never did anything directly, he just smiled.