Chapter 1: Ink for escape

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Anawin, silent and shy,

Writes his pain beneath the sky.

Damon, born from ink and night,

Brings the end in fright.

One by one, they meet their fate,

Anawin’s wish, dark and great.

Through the red door, hand in hand,

Together in a shadowed land.

Together in a shadowed land

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The chatter and laughter of children filled the air as they made their way to Bangkok High School. Among them was Anawin, a boy of eighteen dark hair and expressive doe eye.

He walked silently, weaing a hoodie and clutching his worn-out backpack, trying to blend into the crowd. Despite his efforts, he stood out—mainly because he never spoke.

Anawin’s silence wasn’t by choice. A traumatic event in his early childhood had rendered him mute. Since then, he had become an easy target for bullies who saw his silence as a weakness.

As Anawin entered the school gates, a familiar group of boys spotted him. Jikarat, the leader of the pack, smirked and nudged his friends, Perm and Min.

"Look who it is, the mute freak, Jikarat sneered, walking up to Anawin. "Why don't you say hello, Anawin? Oh, that's right, you can't."

Anawin kept his head down, his face flushing with humiliation. He tried to walk past them, but Jikarat blocked his path.

"Going somewhere, loser?" Perm taunted, shoving Anawin against a locker.

Anawin's eyes darted around, seeking an escape. His heart pounded in his chest, but he knew from experience that any attempt to run would only make things worse.

Min, the tallest of the three, grabbed Anawin's backpack and emptied its contents onto the floor. "What's this?" he mocked, picking up a leather-bound diary. "You writing love letters to yourself?"

Anawin lunged forward to retrieve his diary, his sanctuary, but Jikarat snatched it away.

"Aw, does the little mute boy have a diary?" He teased, flipping through the pages. "What do you write in here? Your sad, pathetic little thoughts?"

Anawin’s eyes burned with anger and shame as he reached for the diary, but Jikarat held it out of his reach. The bell rang, signaling he start of classes, but the bullies showed no sign of backing off.

"Let's see if you can get your precious diary back after school," Jikarat said, shoving the book into his backpack. "Until then, you'll just have to suffer."

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