Invisible | Mina

Invisible

"I can't do it." Mina suddenly said. She sat on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. The girls all stopped dancing and Sana reached over to stop the music. This was very unlike Mina. Usually she would work hard and without complaint no matter how many mistakes she made. The other girls glanced between each other, attempting to figure out any reason why Mina would ever say such a thing.

Then the tears came. Hot and wet, sliding down Mina's cheeks and onto her knees as her mouth opened and she began to sob. Momo was quick to act, rushing to her best friend's side and pulling her into her arms. Momo looked up at the rest of them, helpless and scared. She didn't know what was going on. None of them did. This was out of character.

"Minari..." Momo mumbled as she stroked her hair softly and rocked her from side to side. "What's the matter?" But all Mina could do to respond was cry out. The noise was like nothing the girls had ever heard before. It wasn't sadness, it wasn't stress and it wasn't simply tiredness.

It was fear.

Every shaky breath she took and every sound that scraped through her throat was thick with a fear that seemed too unreal to exist. Momo could feel it coming from her entire body. Muscles tensed and shaking and every breath rattling against her. She was so, so afraid and they couldn't for the life of them think of a reason why.

There's an invisible person following me. I know it sounds crazy, but I can just feel it. I feel like every time I turn around there's someone lurking behind a tree or hiding beneath a table. They're just watching me from a small distance away. Just watching and waiting. What scares me is that I don't know what they're watching or waiting for. Even worse is the fact that they're invisible. I don't know for sure how far away they are or how soon they'll catch up to me. What will happen when they do catch up? Will they hurt me? Will they take me away somewhere? Will they make me helpless and invisible too?

They've been following me for a long time. Like an itch at the back of my skull that I'll never be able to reach. Something in my peripheral vision that won't go away. I would sometimes find myself lying in bed, alone and calm, the invisible person forgotten. All of a sudden, my heart would speed up and my mouth would run dry and I would know that then, somewhere in the room was the invisible person. They were watching. They were waiting. They were coming to get me.

I spent a long-time finding a way of avoiding a person I knew very well might not exist. I couldn't take public transport, because I knew that they might be sitting on a seat on the bus or train. I couldn't order food at the registers anymore because I could sense that the invisible person was hiding beneath the counter, ready to pounce. I couldn't talk to anyone I didn't know, because they might be conspiring with the invisible person and telling them where I was.

I was becoming paranoid.

"Mina hasn't come out bed." Sana sighed, looking at the door, her expression forlorn. "I think she's still embarrassed about yesterday." Nayeon leant against the wall and folded her arms thoughtfully.

Right after Mina's breakdown, Momo had led her to bed and helped her in and stayed with her until she had calmed down. Momo had told Nayeon that poor Mina had fallen asleep almost immediately after she was changed, and the crying had stopped. The whole ordeal had taken a lot out of her.

"I just don't get it." Nayeon said, tapping her shoes against the floor. "I've never seen her like this before. It doesn't make any sense."

"It could be stress." Sana suggested. "Our schedule has been packed lately."

"But our schedule is always packed." It just didn't make any sense.

The door beside the two girls creaked open, startling them both. Mina peaked through the crack of the opening door. She glanced timidly at each of the girls in turn. She hesitated only a moment longer before opening the door and stepping out. She was still dressed in her pyjamas, a fluffy pair of flannels covered in pink unicorns that Chaeyoung had bought for her as a joke on her 21st birthday but she still wore to this day.