Soul's new home

A haunting room

Lea's bedroom was just how I remembered. The walls were colored a soft shade of lilac, contrasting with the room's gentle glow.

On the windowsill, pots of lush fake plants sat in orderly rows.

Watercolor adorned the room's divider each piece capturing light and emotion in swirling blues, pinks, and yellows.

However, the single framed portrait set on Lea's tableside was the only thing that caught my eye. Mom.

In the portrait, Annabeth portrays a beauty that gives off an unsettling feeling.

Her striking blue eyes glimmered with an almost external sharpness, their depth so profound that they seemed to transcend mere humanity.

Sunlight danced off her wheat-colored hair, casting a golden sheen that refracted the light in a mesmerizing play of colors.

She looks nothing like me.

I slammed the frame down without thinking and it hit the table hard.

I flinch.

I should get out of here.

As I emerged from Lea's room, I inhaled sharply, a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, before sliding my feet into my battered Converse.

I need air.

The world has been shrouded from my view for so long that I feel as though I've lost touch with the very essence of human desires.

Once, I envisioned existence as a vibrant sphere, revolving around the pulse of living beings—humans.

Perhaps in embracing the identity of Lea, I grew distant from the profound truth that I, too, am a part of this life, still breathing and yearning.

Because when dawn broke every day Lea would have risen at the crack of six in the morning, the enticing aroma of pancakes filling the air as she whipped up a breakfast for herself and anyone who wandered in.

Lea would have sorted through the laundry keeping track of everyone's chores before piling into her car and making the familiar drive to college listening to the country music that everyone seemed to hate.

Then she would walk through the hallways laughing with her friends like a normal person.

Lea was always the composed one. The better one. I wish I had a clearer understanding of why things changed.

If only Lea had confided in me... In the silence of the morning air, there was a sudden voice, "LEAAAAA!" I freeze in place, surprise flooding my senses.

"Oh my gosh, it's really her!" I lift my gaze, my heart racing as I spot the familiar faces of Mandy and Seria, two of Lea's closest friends.

I've never been fond of them.

"Hey," I manage to utter, but my voice barely pierces the air before they launch themselves at me in enthusiastic hugs.

Where are my friends? Tannys'?

"I need to do something,"

I insist, slipping from their hold like a shadow fleeing the light.

Without another word, I dart toward the cemetery, my breath quickening as I sprint away from Lea's life.