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Listening to the flowing wind and the rustling of the leaves, I sat alone—reminded of why I'd lost everything worth living for.
Even though I gave everything—my body, my mind—I was never enough. Never special. Never better than anyone else.
The pressure from my parents, always pushing me to be the best, still echoed in my thoughts.
"I lied, Mom," I mumbled.
For years, I kept the pain hidden, never letting anyone see how much I was breaking inside.
I cried silently, hoping someone might hear. But I could never bring myself to explain.
As I sat there, lost in thought, a cold wind brushed the back of my neck.
It was sudden—unnatural. A chill that made my spine stiffen.
Startled, I glanced around. Nothing.
But then—
Crack.
A branch snapped to my left near the bushes.
A strange feeling prickled beneath my skin. My heart pounded. Something wasn't right.
I stood up slowly, every instinct screaming at me to run.
That's when I saw it. A hooded figure stood in the shadows—still, silent.
Its pale skin nearly glowed beneath the hood, and long, pointed ears jutted out from the sides of its head.
It stared directly at me, unmoving. As if it had been waiting for me to notice.
I turned to run—but before I could even take a full step, it leapt. In the blink of an eye, it was gone.
And then—I felt it.
Cold. Wrong. A presence behind me.
A second later, pain. Sharp. Deep. Burning.
I'd been stabbed. Blood spilled fast, soaking into the ground as I collapsed, vision flickering.
My body screamed, my thoughts spiraled.
"Was this a robbery… or… murder?"
Fear swallowed me as I remembered the figure. My life played before my eyes.
Regret. Pain. Silence.
Everything turned grey… then black.
For a moment, it felt like I was floating.
No pain. No sound. Just nothingness.
The Void. "Did I die?" I wondered.
Tears slipped down my cheeks as memories of my parents surfaced.
But then, something shifted. A strange warmth washed over me—comforting, calm, like the world had stopped.
And in that stillness, a voice—soft and clear—spoke to me: "You'll be the last hope."
A woman's voice. Familiar, somehow. And then—
Sleep took me.