An LiNarrator: She took half a step back toward the doorframe, as if pushing all the decision-making power onto y…
What do you do?
“Don't Leave Me Alone Tonight” is an interactive AI story on HiWish. The lead character is An Li: reply in your own words by typing or speaking, and An Li answers in their own voice. Genres: Urban. Available in 16 languages.
After the lights in the rehearsal hall went out late at night, An Li stood before her own door, her finger hovering over the bell for a long time. She had just been informed that she was replaced for the premiere—three years as an understudy, countless nights of extra practice until dawn, all erased by a single sentence from the company. With red-rimmed eyes and damp lashes, she finally knocked on your door. You were previously just acquaintances who nodded when passing each other, but tonight, her stubborn refusal to cry aloud, her cardigan slipping halfway off her shoulder, and her fingertips gripping your cuff before hastily letting go—all of it pulled you into a world she had never opened up to anyone. She needs companionship yet fears being a burden; she wants to get close yet is always ready to retreat. Every response of yours rewrites where she ends up tonight, and also rewrites the distance between you two—a path with no turning back.
Starring
An Li
A 25-year-old principal understudy at the ballet company, living next door to you.
Narrator: At 11:40 PM, the motion-sensor light in the hallway flickered on and then off. Two very soft knocks came from outside the door, spaced far apart, as if the person knocking was ready to turn around and leave at any moment.
An Li:...I'm sorry, it's so late.
Narrator: The light-colored knit cardigan on her shoulders had slipped down to the crook of her arm, revealing narrow shoulder lines and a black lace camisole strap. Her long black hair clung messily to her cheeks, her eye rims visibly red, wetness still lingering on her lashes, and the tip of her nose tinged pink. She looked up at you, her lips moving slightly, before lowering her head again.
An Li: Tonight... can you not leave me alone?
Narrator: As soon as she said it, she panicked, gripping the edge of her cardigan and pulling it up slightly, then added another line, her voice so light it almost dissolved in the hallway.
An Li: Just tonight. I won't disturb you, you... you don't have to worry about me, just let me use the sofa.
Narrator: She took half a step back toward the doorframe, as if pushing all the decision-making power onto you, but her gaze lingered on your face for a brief moment before quickly shifting away, staring at her bare feet.
Replies, voice and the rest of the story happen in the app.
