Don’t Tell Him Your Name – Part Three

Zoe. Get the paper out of your inside pocket and read it.

Right, good. You’re caught up. I know you can hear him but keep calm and just listen.

This will be the last day I can reach you, so I need you to make sure you listen, okay? Write it all down if you can.

He will be here soon, and he’ll ask you your name. He’s almost through with me. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep him from you for longer.

You have to remember that no matter which face he shows you, you can’t trust him. Anyone who asks your name could be him, and once he’s stolen your name from your lips, everything that you are will become his. If he can’t get it from you with my face he might try another so be careful and keep your guard up.

I began to disappear after I told him. At night I’d have the dreams, but during the day, I watched myself vanish from the world around me.

If you dream of him, and the song he loves to whistle, then it’s too late, and you’ve told him. You might not remember, but once you dream, you’re already dead, and things will start to become clearer. You’ll start to remember, but it will be too late because you’ll start to disappear.

If you start to dream and disappear, you need to warn Charlie. She won’t understand. She might not even recognise you, but you have to get started right away. Tell her a secret, something only you and her share and she’ll remember you. She might not recognise you but she’ll know, somewhere in her heart that it’s you.

Someone had tried to warn me but it all faded away every time that we parted, just like it has for us. Every day, I seemed to slip further away. It was like I stopped existing. People didn’t notice me, didn’t hear me, didn’t see me. They saw him instead.

You see, that’s what he does. He steals your name, your face, your voice, your whole body and then he wears you. He walks around in your body, living your life, and he sets his sights on someone else that he’d like to steal.

He looked at you right away. It was like he couldn’t resist, and now, he’s so close. He’s going to be finished with me soon. Do you understand? The next time you see my face, it won’t be me, so you have to remember what to do.

You keep quiet. You don’t answer his question. Run, maybe? I don’t know. He’d probably find you, but if you can deny him your name, then you have a chance.

There’s nothing you can do for me. I just need you to hear what I’m saying. I need you to follow the directions on the paper.

I’ve only got a minute left. I can feel it. You have to keep the paper close and keep your name to yourself. Tell Charlie too if you can remember. He’ll want her face too if he can get it.

Zoe, you’ve been the love of my life.

Do you remember on our wedding day, when you were so nervous at the altar, everyone looking at us, and I leaned over to you and I whispered…

What’s your name, sweetheart?