Sm1L3

“Sm1L3”

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I wasn’t going to post this.

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I actually deleted everything I had about it.

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The world. The screenshots. Even the notes.

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I don’t know why I kept doing that.

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Every time I tried to write it down, it felt like I shouldn’t.

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Like it would be easier if I just… didn’t.

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But I still remember it.

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And that’s worse.

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It started normal.

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That’s the part that sticks with me the most—nothing was wrong.

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Five minutes after I spawned into a new world, the chat said:

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“Sm1L3 has joined the fun”

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I noticed it, but not in a serious way.

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Just weird wording.

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I checked the player list.

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No one.

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I moved on.

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A little while later, I saw him.

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Walking.

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That’s important.

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He wasn’t standing still or glitching—he was walking through trees like a normal player, turning slightly, stopping, then continuing.

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He looked simple.

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Pink skin.

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No armor.

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And a small smile.

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I typed “hello.”

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He stopped walking.

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Turned toward me.

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Then walked closer.

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He didn’t respond.

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But he stayed near me.

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If I moved, he followed.

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If I stopped, he would stop a second later.

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Not perfectly synced.

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Just… close enough.

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It felt like someone playing without chat.

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After a while, I stopped paying attention to him.

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That’s when things got strange.

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Not because he changed.

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But because I stopped noticing when he moved.

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Sometimes I’d turn around and he’d already be closer.

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Not suddenly—just… I didn’t remember him getting there.

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I told myself I just wasn’t paying attention.

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This continued for three in-game days.

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Nothing changed.

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Same smile.

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Same eyes.

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Same movement.

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But I started noticing something else.

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He was always in front of me.

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Not directly.

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But no matter which direction I went, I’d end up seeing him ahead again.

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Even if I turned around.

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Even if I walked the other way.

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I didn’t test it.

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I didn’t want to.

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On the third day, I tried ignoring him completely.

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I kept my camera down while mining.

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Didn’t look up.

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Didn’t check where he was.

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That’s when I heard footsteps.

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Not mine.

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They matched my pace at first.

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Then slightly faster.

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Then stopped when I stopped.

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I didn’t turn around.

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The sky went dark.

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Instantly.

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Lightning struck.

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I didn’t see it hit him.

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But I knew it did.

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The sound was wrong.

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Closer than it should’ve been.

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Sharper.

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Then the chat said:

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“Sm1L3 has left you”

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I turned around.

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He was gone.

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For the first time since I joined the world…

he wasn’t there.

It should’ve felt better.

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It didn’t.

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The silence felt… wrong.

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Then the chat said:

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“Sm1L3 joined the game”

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I didn’t turn around right away.

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I just stood there.

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Because I already knew where he would be.

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Behind me.

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When I finally looked—

he was closer than he had ever been.

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His color was darker.

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Red.

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His smile was bigger.

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Not stretched like before.

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Just… wider.

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Like it had grown naturally into something it shouldn’t be.

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His eyes were darker too.

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Not fully black.

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But almost.

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He started walking again.

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But something was off.

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His steps didn’t sound right.

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Sometimes there was no sound.

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Sometimes two steps for one movement.

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He walked toward me.

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Stopped.

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Then took one step—

and ended up closer than that step should have taken him.

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Not teleporting.

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Just… wrong distance.

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I backed away.

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He followed.

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I hit him.

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He reacted immediately.

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Still walking—

but faster now.

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Too fast.

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I ran.

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He stayed behind me.

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I didn’t hear him move.

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But he was always there when I turned.

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I managed to kill him.

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I don’t remember how.

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The chat said:

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“Sm1L3 needs to go see you”

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That message didn’t make sense until later.

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“Sm1L3 joined the game”

“Sm1L3 has found you”

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He appeared again.

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But this time…

I noticed something I hadn’t before.

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He wasn’t looking at me.

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Not directly.

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His head was angled slightly past me.

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Like he was focused on something just behind me.

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I didn’t turn around.

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I walked into him.

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He disappeared.

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The chat said:

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“no”

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Then:

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“Sm1L3 will be back”

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I should’ve left then.

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I didn’t.

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About a minute later, I saw another one.

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Same red color.

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Same smile.

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Walking near my base.

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Then another.

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And another.

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They didn’t appear suddenly.

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I just started noticing more of them.

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Like they had already been there.

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Each one had a bigger smile.

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Each one had darker eyes.

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Some were almost completely black.

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Some were watching me.

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Some weren’t.

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But slowly…

they all started to.

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One by one.

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Until every single one was facing me.

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At the same time.

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No turning animation.

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No delay.

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Just… all looking.

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Then they started walking.

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Not running.

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Walking.

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But faster than walking should be.

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Their steps didn’t match their speed.

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Some slid forward.

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Some paused mid-step.

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Some moved without sound.

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They reached my base.

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Started breaking it.

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But I barely noticed.

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Because the chat had started filling.

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“SMILE”

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Again.

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“SMILE”

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Faster.

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Until it didn’t look like words anymore.

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When they got close…

I realized something.

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Their eyes weren’t all black.

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Some still had just a little white left.

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And those ones…

were the ones closest to me.

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I died before I could understand why.

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The chat didn’t scroll.

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It flooded.

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“SMILESMILESMILESMILESMILESMILESMILE”

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When I respawned…

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everything was normal.

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Completely normal.

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Except…

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for a second—

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I thought I saw one of them.

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Pink again.

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With a small smile.

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I didn’t go toward it.

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I left the world.

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Deleted it.

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I tried not to think about it.

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But sometimes, when I open Minecraft…

before the menu appears…

I see a message.

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Not long enough to screenshot.

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Just long enough to read.

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“Sm1L3 has joined the fun.”

I don’t think it ever left.

I think it just resets.

And I think the only reason it gets worse…

Is because you stay.