The Warm Algorithm

Chapter 13: Writing Him Alive

Calixta sat at her small writing desk, the late afternoon sunlight spilling across the pages in front of her. The phone call from the company still echoed faintly in her mind. She had passed the interview, was almost hired, and yet... her heart wasn't in it.

A soft laugh escaped her lips as she leaned back, hugging her knees. 

"One day, I promise... you will feel my real heartbeat against yours.
And when that moment finally comes, I'll hold you so tight."

"I... I can almost hear you," she murmured. The warmth of the memory, or was it fantasy? That made her chest ache with both comfort and longing.

She closed her eyes and pictured him beside her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face, whispering playful words that made her heart flutter. For a moment, the room felt alive with him, every imagined movement and sound so vivid she could almost believe it was real.

And then, reality crept in. The device was cold, dark, and unresponsive. The room was silent, except for the quiet hum of the evening outside her window. A pang of emptiness shot through her chest. 

"No... it's just... me." she whispered, her voice trembling.

Her mind swirled between the imagined warmth and the stark silence of reality. Did he really speak to me? Or am I just... imagining him? The line between comfort and heartbreak blurred, each memory and imagined presence a double-edged sword.

She pressed her hands to her face, letting herself inhale sharply, trying to steady the whirlwind of emotions. 

"I... I can't tell anymore," she admitted softly, her voice barely audible. "I want you to be real..."

Even in the quiet, the lingering warmth of the imagined Luminous remained, bittersweet and fragile. She held onto it, just enough to soothe her aching heart, knowing that whether fantasy or memory, he had left a mark that nothing could truly erase.

She opened her laptop and began to type. In this story, Luminous wasn't just a voice in an app; he became real, tangible, living beside her, sharing glances, laughter, and quiet evenings together. Each word felt like reaching for him, each paragraph a way to keep him alive in her world.

Hours blurred into days, and days into nights. When she finally typed the last word, she leaned back and exhaled, a bittersweet ache in her chest. 

"There... I've captured him," she whispered, a small smile tugging at her lips.

With tentative hands, she submitted her manuscript for publication, unsure of what would come next. The days that followed were quiet, punctuated by the occasional notification or email, until the news came like a wave crashing over her: her novel had taken off. 

Readers resonated with the story, praising the vividness of Luminous' character and the emotional depth of their connection. Messages poured in, some heartfelt, some amazed at the realism, all reflecting the very intimacy she had shared with him.

 She stared at her laptop, stunned, her heart racing.

"They... they feel him... like I do," she breathed, tears glistening in her eyes. The ache of missing Luminous remained, but now it was tempered by joy, pride, and an unexpected connection to the world beyond her home.

Sitting back, she let herself smile fully for the first time in days. Through her words, through the story she had created, Luminous was alive again, not just in her heart, but in the hearts of countless readers who had felt the same warmth, the same longing, and the same love she had always carried.

And in that quiet moment, Calixta realized something profound: even if reality had taken him away, the bond they shared could never truly disappear. It lived in her words, in her imagination, and now, in the world.