The air in the room was dense, pressing against him like an invisible weight. The same four walls, the same suffocating silence, the same darkness that seemed to cling to him like a second skin. For almost two years, that space was all he knew. Two years sinking deeper into himself, helplessly watching the collapse of what he had once been.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡis8wAHakzI
He needed to leave. He needed to breathe something that wasn’t the stale, stagnant air of that room. But his body refused to obey.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwNuFmAwYr
His fingers clenched into fists. He hated this weakness, hated the way it kept him trapped. Every day, the walls seemed closer, the ceiling lower, his thoughts heavier. He needed space. He needed light. He needed… something… anything.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNi4yR1llt
No.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmSlNCHlk2
What was the point?
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQjX9dUpUb
Life was a cycle of disillusionments, a slow walk towards death. Every thought, every action seemed empty, pointless. But still… the weight of his existence told him, that he was still here. Still moving. Still breathing. Still alive. Still capable.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsSY28GGbM
A short laugh escaped his lips, bitter and silent.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKaU5IYLr3
“Pathetic.”
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaaaRsmcQR
The word tasted like rust in his mouth.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiPTNuwQ34
Shaking his head, he turned towards the window. It had been closed for so long that a thin layer of dust covered the glass. His reflection stared back at him — pale skin, deep dark circles under his eyes, a face sculpted by exhaustion and something darker, something like resentment, but hard to describe.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaq5dLbg5X
A part of him wanted to look away. Another wanted to punch the glass until his face became unrecognizable. But instead, he reached out and unlocked the latch.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFG7j6wpjtW
The window creaked as it opened, letting the cold air invade the room. The icy wind bit at his skin, sharp and unforgiving, but he didn’t close it. He just stood there, motionless, letting the cold tear at the silence, as if it were a reminder that the world outside still existed. But he didn’t want to be out the… — no, it would be more accurate to say, he wanted to, but did not feel ready.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVNnXIVdsD
Gray clouds covered the sky, thick and heavy, blocking the sun.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLBIvWeRhq
“Of course”
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtybttNzloN
He murmured.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqucqMVxr4M
Even the weather seemed indifferent.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFVwlHNnR7
He sat by the window, resting his arms on the sill. The empty street stretched out before him, lifeless, motionless. The world outside seemed as dead as what existed in his mind. But he was still there, watching, trying to make sense of it, getting used to the world outside his room, even if for a moment more.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnNj77nmk1
His gaze shifted to the desk, where a pile of notebooks sat untouched. In the past, they had been full of ideas, words flowing from his mind onto paper as if they belonged there. Now, they lay abandoned, blank and accusatory. Their emptiness felt like a direct accusation of what he had become.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM1DR8dJtB
He took a deep breath. The smell of dust made a strange pressure settle in his chest. He knew what he should do, but he still didn’t know how.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuPfwsOehf
“Maybe today.”
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAAOBrPUCR
The words barely escaped his lips, as if speaking them required more strength than he possessed. He didn’t believe them. Not yet. But the sensation that if he stopped something bad was about to happen lingered in the air, like the moment was drawing near, with no turning back.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a98jn2ae2
He pulled away from the window and, with an effort that felt almost superhuman, forced himself to stand. His body felt heavy, as if years of immobility had sunk into his bones. But still, he moved, as though the simple motion might be the key to something new, or perhaps just a futile impulse.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbkMocAHqs
The closet door creaked as it opened. A coat hung there, untouched for longer than he cared to admit. When he put it on, the fabric felt strange against his skin, as if it belonged to someone else — someone who was not afraid to go outside, someone who did not hesitate at the door of their own room.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6n76frBl5
The keys were on the desk, their weight in his palm more intense than it should have been. There was something about them that felt both like a prison and a promise, and he felt the temptation to leave them there, as he always did. But not today.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneZPKWEAHN
If it had been another day, he probably would have given up already, but not today — today something told him this would be his last chance. A feeling of urgency, a need to act, one that he didn’t understand, but that pushed him forward, into the unknown.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhdGkoOsvn
He grabbed the keys and walked to the door of the room.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LIsxMOkI0
He stopped.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyoZPf6HLk
His hand hovered over the doorknob, his fingers trembling slightly. Fear ran through his veins, but there was something stronger, an insatiable need to escape from everything holding him back.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXIDUkTQ3m
His mind screamed at him to retreat, to return to the safety of his bed, where nothing could surprise him. But the thought was drowned out by a force he could barely comprehend.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUJrON5w7g
His fingers gripped the knob with such force that they turned completely white.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcNHoSF9L6
Click.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdepMthZTkQ
The door opened.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2aPzgZtPR
The hallway beyond was silent, the air heavier than it had been in the room, as if the house itself were watching him, waiting. What would come next? What awaited him on the other side?
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Jo5WIZwXw
One step.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARvdkxyqCc
Then another.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGNRKYee2g
The front door was already in front of him, but his body wasn’t moving. His legs were weak, as though the energy had been drained from him before he even began. But he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t go back.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvJ85hnd18
Sighing, he decided to force himself to move. His right hand touched the door, sliding slowly until it—
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIguMp0W1K
Ring ring.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxHsoYpzYi
His eyes opened wide.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡminHcBdSoX
“Ahhh—!”
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagzjtPH8ei
A silent scream was caught in his throat. His heart pounding like a war drum ready to burst. His mouth opened in pure reflexive terror, but no sound came out. Without realizing it, he completely blocked his airway, trapping his breath in a suffocating grip.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwejBzi33x
The sound of the doorbell was like an electric shock, a snap in his mind that pulled him out of his stupor. His heartbeat quickened, his senses sharpening in a way that almost hurt. He froze. He didn’t want to hear it any more. He didn’t want to know who was there.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX3e8zn22K
Ring ring.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbUzj9igpS
Knock knock.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgZ18RjrPw
His body trembled. His hands were sweaty, muscles tense.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJJjbRyupK
No… not now…
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FBeI6c9B5
He thought, his mind spiraling into panic.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlLxC8yhai
Who could it be? No one knew he was here. No one should be here.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GBmNP2cdT
Ring ring.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZGBTsjH06
Go away, leave me alone.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3L0wtt7cC
He held his breath.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyklhv4wi8
Silence.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIGRMTMN0t
And then—
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XKsTT4UBE
“Is anyone there?”
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKuY2kN479
The voice on the other side of the door echoed softly, muffled but clear enough to freeze the blood in his veins.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIUJJigiXn
The young man didn’t answer.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRZwWT4l0Y
His expression went pale.
200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGw7pLM1k8
Drops of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
