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𝘈/𝘕 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦 ~!!!!
· · ────── ঌ·✦·໒ ────── · ·
Small. Helpless. My hands swallowed by the sleeves of a suit far too big, the fabric heavy and foreign. I'm shaking-my whole-body quivers violently, as if it's trying to escape itself. Flash. Bright, jagged edges, images slicing across my vision. A knife catches the light-gleaming, hungry. Heat sears my skin, burns spreading, blooming pain. The smell-charred, raw, burnt flesh. And then... screams, piercing, echoing, circling me. I try to move, to pull away, but I'm held down, something unseen forcing me to stay. Flash. A garden, hazy and blurred by smoke, colors muted, fading in and out. A hand, large and heavy, raised high, ready to strike. My body tightens. The air shudders. Gunshots-a sharp crack that rings in my ears. My small fists clench and unclench. I hear a low, wet gurgle, then silence. A dull thud that shakes the ground, or maybe just me. Dark suits. Expressionless faces. And then, him. My father. Eyes cold, indifferent, like the devil himself watching from the shadows, unmoved.
My eyes snapped open, wide and unfocused, as I struggled to pull air into my lungs. My chest rose and fell in shallow, frantic gasps, and sweat slicked my skin, clinging to the sheets and pooling at the small of my back.
I shot upright, clutching at my chest, the phantom weight of the dream still crushing me. My hands trembled as they fisted in the bedsheets, and my head throbbed, a relentless ache that pulsed in time with my racing heart.
Fractured images flashed behind my eyes. Stress gnawed at the edges of my sanity, each frantic thought tearing deeper into the fragile hold I had on reality.
I blinked, my vision barely adjusting to the dim light spilling through the curtains. The room was still, an almost mocking contrast to the chaos inside me. But the silence wasn't comforting—it was oppressive, amplifying the echoes of those memories.
My hands ran through my hair, tugging slightly at the roots as I tried to anchor myself, tried to pull free from the suffocating grip of whatever had haunted me in my sleep. Each breath I took felt like it wasn't enough, like I was drowning in air too thin to sustain me.
Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I planted my feet on the cold floor, the shock of it grounding me momentarily. My body felt heavy, my limbs sluggish, as if the nightmare had drained me of all strength. I pressed my palms against my thighs, willing the trembling to stop, but it didn't.
