Sighs and whispers || ONC 2025

Elise Savoy thought dropping Yale University would be the hardest part of her teen years-until her mind became the real battleground.

After her mother's tragic death, 19-year-old Elise is drowning in grief and unraveling at the seams. Haunted by vivid psychotic episodes, she returns to her family's decaying home in another country, hoping the quiet will mend what's broken. But the house holds more than dusty memories and fading photographs. There's something lurking in the corners of her mind and maybe in the woods beyond the porch.

As fragments of forgotten memories resurface, Elise begins to question what's real. The more she digs, the more reality slips through her fingers.

Is she losing herself to grief and madness? Or is there something hidden in her past that's been waiting to be found?

Sometimes, the only way to find the truth is to let it find you.

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.⚘☘〄☘⚘.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

Participant of the || Open Novella Contest 2025.

Main prompt: 105.- Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns only this time, they're real.

Secondary prompts: 102 and 126.

2025 Umi Moriko Original