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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclF1KuQ3AH
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfu0P0BZv04
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cUue98K1G
No.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoglLyLU0Du
What was the point?
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1z4PG66W1
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyJ7X4IFsz
A short laugh escaped his lips, bitter and silent.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07orgKmCYo
“Pathetic.”
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVw1eIMG9jF
The word tasted like rust in his mouth.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPccpupUWj
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R1M9GjXXB
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKk3qZYw0o
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUAUXXBaNu
Gray clouds covered the sky, thick and heavy, blocking the sun.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8An62WvmAs
“Of course”
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHSkpviy0x
He murmured.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0w3R3WuOx
Even the weather seemed indifferent.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8waNVXVWF
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWe7VU5whW
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtDHqBWOi6
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4Y6Gn60sD
“Maybe today.”
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3k5Gx0gX0
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtv1H7F9j8
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CF77pE2XP
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrXv773lSd
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmrS5MIPZ8
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKNIygb1DV
He grabbed the keys and walked to the door of the room.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnzirCVVgw
He stopped.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQWEP57aKW
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAygBnCO1r
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeSqkbUTgy
His fingers gripped the knob with such force that they turned completely white.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGOjydi5ER
Click.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHFeUlnKom
The door opened.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCksFJUuOWo
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?
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9cWNuwMgQ
One step.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL0Ff1Gppn
Then another.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtidGP23hBw
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAD4yFfGxL
Sighing, he decided to force himself to move. His right hand touched the door, sliding slowly until it—
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3r5xHITUf
Ring ring.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMwqaNtuYq
His eyes opened wide.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcIUSin9KB
“Ahhh—!”
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkUmUeQWGZ
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDH4ju7psM
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.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2FpQMu7EJ
Ring ring.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3smQ11CgEg
Knock knock.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClNCqVbizZ
His body trembled. His hands were sweaty, muscles tense.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gogNb4ZBt
No… not now…
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8U6ICjSDD
He thought, his mind spiraling into panic.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zKWMQ6IAD
Who could it be? No one knew he was here. No one should be here.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvqYAwRHPu
Ring ring.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVVA1zT46Z
Go away, leave me alone.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM8i3tl1yP
He held his breath.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuy1YkJi6s
Silence.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiduux2Iu7
And then—
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslJG3aqtpm
“Is anyone there?”
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkex914PUa
The voice on the other side of the door echoed softly, muffled but clear enough to freeze the blood in his veins.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3VDIdVcSa
The young man didn’t answer.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeXfXUXu2i
His expression went pale.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeIMQF0XO1
Drops of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
