Shokhruh Kayumov--The Day No One Noticed I Was Gone

I didn’t realize I was lost until everything went quiet.

Not the kind of quiet you notice right away. It came slowly, like something fading in the background. The laughter, the voices, even the sound of footsteps behind me disappeared. At first, it felt peaceful, as if I had stepped out of the noise and into something calmer.

It had started as a normal day. We were walking through the hills, the air slightly cool, the sky stretched wide above us. Someone was talking, someone was laughing, and I was somewhere in the middle of it all—present, but not really noticed.

I don’t remember exactly why I stepped off the path. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the need to feel something different.

It wasn’t until I turned around that something inside me dropped.

The path was gone.

I tried to stay calm, but a thought slipped in quietly: What if no one noticed I was gone?

That idea stayed with me longer than the fear itself.

Eventually, I heard my name. Faint at first, then clearer. I followed the sound and found my way back.

Nothing around me had changed.

But I had.

Because the truth is, I wasn’t afraid of being lost.

I was afraid that it wouldn’t matter.

Shokhruh Kayumov hails from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He is currently a student at Shaykhontohur Specialized School. Shokhruh likes to believe he is not only a chess player but also a writer in progress. He is interested in storytelling, leadership, and exploring human psychology through writing. He has several unfinished works he dreams of publishing one day. His hobbies include reading, writing, and playing chess.