Empty Smiles Novels & Stories

empty. The only sounds were the faint hum of music from hidden speakers. Liam sat comfortably opposite her at the round table, a content smile playing on his lips. He nodded at her statement, explaining “Booked it specially for us” The sound of that was sweet to her ears. But, her mind slowly wandered, her eyes drifting across the empty space. “But, why is it so empty?” When Liam told her where they were going, she expected the place to be filled with people of high stature, but they were the only ones. There were barely any waiters or waitresses in sight.

I had spent six months drifting across the ocean on a cargo ship, but I would send 20,000 dollars back home every month. So, I really only had one thing on my mind the day I finally set foot on solid ground again—my wife's pork rib soup. When I pushed open the front door, I found my seven-month-pregnant wife, Sophia Merkin, sitting on our worn-out sofa. At that moment, my six months' worth of exhaustion, frustration, and pent-up anger from the roiling life at sea surged to the surface. "I've been busting my ass out there and working more than 10 hours a day. Yet, I don't even get a hot meal at home when I'm finally home?" Sophia said nothing. Instead, she walked over to the refrigerator

Why would a thief climb a ladder? [What’s that person doing in the dark?] The cameraman shouted, “Hey, what are you doing?!” Hearing the noise, Kaden looked over. When he saw customers, he was a bit confused. Holding a cloth in his hand, he climbed down and looked at the two people who had come in the middle of the night. To earn shares by the end of the year, he always wore a smile. The comments were full of praise. [Still smiling at 2 a.m. This restaurant is really living up to its reputation.]

I said again, with my lips wearing smile. “W-why? I don’t know, maybe, just sometimes, I don’t really know,” she said stuttering. “You can just say right now. Your cheeks are red miss ma’am,” I said and chuckled. By that day’s afternoon, we already have packed our things up. The whole time we are packing those, I always gaze at Amira but she can’t look at me. She’ll gaze too, but she’s avoiding eye contacts. She is stuttering when I talk to her. That conversation maybe made her uncomfortable. I hope not. Maybe she is just shy about that. I can’t help but to notice how good my mood is for that day.

No new threats. I set it down and don’t pick it back up. Liam leans against the counter, watching me. “What?” I ask. “You look lighter,” he says. I think about it. “Maybe,” I reply. “Or maybe I’m just not holding my breath anymore.” Later, we sit on the couch, legs tangled, the TV on but muted. The house settles around us like it’s learning our shapes. “For the first time,” I say quietly, “the future is empty.”

"You said if I ever made you angry or we had a fight, I could use this coupon." Tears welled up in his eyes. "Don't be mad at me, okay?" Silence felt like a heavy stone pressing on my chest. Sadness mixed with memories flooded my heart. We both knew that promises only mattered when we were in love. I remained silent, and his hand holding the coupon trembled slightly. He let out a bitter laugh and lowered his head. "It's okay. You're right to be angry." Then he took out the second card, which read, [Make Up Coupon.] "When I learned you were p

She could almost hear him laugh, low and unpretentious, a sound so out of place in this sterile world. But when she blinked, the seat across from her was empty. She raised the glass to her lips, masking the ache with a practiced smile. The investors didn’t notice the silence stretching behind her polished answers, didn’t see how every word cost her more than it should. The dinner ended in applause and congratulations. Hands shook, promises made. Sophia thanked them all with perfect poise. But as she stepped into the night air afterward, cool and sharp against her skin, the emptiness hit her harder than the noise inside ever could.

For days, silence stretched between Amara and Liam like a thick fog, the kind that seeps into every corner of your life, muffling the sound of laughter, dulling the brightness of ordinary days, and leaving a hollow ache that refuses to fade. Liam had stopped calling. Not a single message, not a fleeting text to check in or to reassure. Nothing. And with each day that passed without word, Amara felt the invisible thread connecting them grow taut, then fray, until it threatened to snap entirely.

We hold our gazes for barely a second. There's no greeting. No smiles. No nods. Just recognition. I lean back in my chair, exhaling slowly. This night just got complicated.

The smile was worse than the hunger. Worse than the silence. Worse than the endless loneliness that nearly consumed existence itself. Because unlike the others This thing already understood emotion The system had to learn. The First Silence had to awaken. The Hollow had to break apart to feel anything beyond emptiness. But this presence? It was already smiling Like it had been waiting for all of this. Theodore sees it too …and immediately regrets existing. “Absolutely not.” His voice cracks slightly. “That is the smile of something with a plan.”