𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:
18-year-old Ria wants nothing more than to be someone else. She hides a dark secret that afflicts her for days and nights. Suddenly, her mother stops answering all phone calls. When her father also starts to behave strangely, s...
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It was quick and almost painless. I remember studying a map of the city in the parking lot behind the store, and then I felt a small pinch on my neck, barely registering it in that rush. I only found out that something had happened after I woke up in the cell, feeling cold. The cold froze me from head to toe.
Disoriented as hell, I straighten up and sudden sitting caused resistance in my head, which responded into a violent reaction in form of shaking and twisting. The wall in front of me moved a few times, so I rather closed my eyes, struck by exhaustion. I needed to know what was real and what was only happening in my head.
When everything stopped feeling like I was on a wild carousel, I looked around. The logo on the ceiling seemed familiar to me.Too familiar.
No.
It cannot be true.
I parted my dry lips, which lacked water. With limp hands, I reached for the cup on the ground and drank its liquid to the bottom. The fluid running down my throat seemed like the most delicious drink on Earth. At that moment, I didn't care what I drank, it could have been poison.
I was already holding an empty cup in my hands, trying to remember. How did I get here? Does this mean it's the end? Disappointment and pain flowed through my veins. In a split second, the glass shattered on the wall next to me.
From the right side, I heard a beep sound, followed by heavy footsteps. Someone was approaching. But who?
I managed to get on my feet, taking one of the shards of the cup, and hid it under my long black sleeve. Vigilant eyes stared at me from the opposite side of the thin steel bars set into the walls. A woman in her forties flickered with eyelashes a few times and spoke in a soft voice.
"You've finally woken up, Ria." She noticed the broken glass beside the bed, so she stepped back a little.
"Who are you? And how do you know my name? Is my mother here, too?" I blurted out at her, confused.
"Slow down a little," the stranger in front of me was trying to calm me with her voice. "What if you put the glass you're hiding, first?" She knew. How did she know?
I swallowed dryly and assessed the situation. What if I disarm myself and she doesn't tell me anything anyway?
I unwillingly pulled a sharp object from my sleeve and tossed it among the others. It broke down. Like my hope that I'll ever save my mom.
"Well, you see it's not that bad," the woman smiled. I had no desire to return her smile. I looked awful and felt even worse. "Back to your questions," she said again, her blond curl falling on her face. "My name is Freya, and I know your name because of the people you're here." She stopped talking and looked at me. "I think you know where you are, so there's no point in telling you one more time."
"Mine," I gasped, a shiver ran through my body.
"Exactly," the woman nodded, adjusting her turtleneck. There was no sign of emotion on my face.
