A few days started passing like this, in solitude, when the grip of that cold had seized my heart completely. I would go to school, where I'd sit in a corner of a four-walled room, and neither anyone would say a word to me, nor would I speak to anyone. I would return home, where everyone looked at me with those same cold, disdainful eyes. Gradually, I had grown used to avoiding eye contact with them.
On the streets, I didn't speak a word. The only words that would leave my mouth were answers to questions asked by others. Other than that, no words would escape me. I started feeling as if I had become invisible in this chaotic world filled with all sorts of people, like how when someone dies or goes missing, people talk about them, but no one ever questions a living, perfectly fine person. They are only looked at through the eyes of disdain, everywhere.
And so, the days went on in this solitude. One day, just like any other, I woke up early in the morning, getting ready to go to school. I looked out of the window, and today, the weather felt different. There was no calmness in the sky; the breeze, usually gentle, today blew harshly, as if the winds were sharper. The sky had an odd, restless energy today, and instead of the sun's rays, there were dark clouds. The trees, draped in red flowers, swayed violently. This sight, instead of peace, created an odd, strange attraction within my heart.
I went to the bathroom and put on my blue uniform, and after slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my bag and started heading out. There was no breakfast in the kitchen. Dad left before me, and my sister and brother would leave after me. For them, food was ready, but for me, the dining table was completely empty. Since the day I had returned home late, my mom and dad had been angry with me. Ever since then, they neither spoke to me, nor did they look at me with anything but disdain and anger—as if I had done something terribly wrong, or maybe even committed a crime.
They were treating me this way because maybe I hadn't apologized to them for that day. Thinking all this, I grabbed an umbrella and left the house. The only person who still made me smile, even a little, was my naive little brother, who could always bring a faint laugh whenever he was around.
Today, the air was cold, carrying a sense of harshness with it. The street was decorated with flowers, but today, that decoration didn't offer the peace it usually did. It didn't feel like it was bringing any calm.
Letting go of the thread of this strange attraction, I started walking down the crowded street. Today, there was less activity there; the sounds of laughter and chatter seemed to have vanished. There were others on the street too, but today even the street felt quiet. It wasn't a peaceful silence though, it felt more like an odd kind of pull. I reached school and, in the same hallway, placed my belongings and umbrella in my locker before moving forward. There were fewer children in the hallway today, maybe due to the bad weather.
I lowered my gaze and walked ahead, heading into my classroom, which was also unusually quiet today. I sat in the corner of the room, a place I had come to think of as my second home. There were only about 7 or 8 other kids there. Normally, this classroom would have been full of laughter and chatter, but today, it was only faint sounds of giggles here and there.
In an attempt to push away this silence, I picked up a novel and started reading. Today, I was reading the second chapter. As I was turning the pages, suddenly, I heard a familiar sound—the sound of laughter and jokes from someone I knew.
Without lifting my head, I raised my eyes to see who it was. It was Elish, Hugo, and Sifra. They were laughing and joking as they walked towards me, and as they saw me, they gave me a mocking, shameful smile, rolling their eyes in a dismissive manner before sitting down at their usual spots.
I had become accustomed to their actions. The face of the battle within my heart had become completely dull, and even a spark of anger could no longer rise. As the last periods going , a thin girl, who was slightly chubby and wearing glasses, came into view, walking toward me. I ignored her, showing no expression on my face. I couldn't understand why anyone would talk to me, especially from this class.
But the girl stopped right in front of my seat. I looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression, and she looked at me with a nervous expression in her eyes. I didn't find her nervousness strange because she was usually like this. She looked at me as if she wanted to say something but perhaps didn't know how to say it. Her lips were trembling a little.
Finally, with her trembling lips, she said, "Mrs. Elison is waiting for you. She wants to talk to you about the assignment."
Without showing any emotion, I softly replied, "Where is she?" There was a bit of surprise on her face, and she gestured with her hand, saying, "I'll take you to her, because I was called too."
Her nervousness seemed a little more than usual today, but I didn't pay much attention to it, and started walking with her.
ost of the time, Mrs. Elison is either in the teacher's lounge or the library. The girl was walking with hurried steps, almost as if she needed to get this done quickly. I followed her, deep in thought, but then I realized that she wasn't leading me toward the teacher's lounge or the library. Instead, she was taking me to the quietest part of the school—the oldest part. The lights were dim here, and the place felt somewhat eerie. I had never been here before. The walls were faded, and everything around me seemed to have a sense of abandonment. As I looked around, I began to feel a sense of unease, and I stopped the girl, asking, "Why did Mrs. Elison want me here?"
The girl's hands were trembling slightly, and in a jerky manner, she replied, "She needed a bit of... peace and quiet environment." Her answer didn't ease my unease, but I still continued walking. I asked, "What place is this?" At the sound of my question, she hesitated and quickened her pace, replying, "This is the school's storage area."
We descended the stairs and arrived outside a large room. The girl began unlocking the door to it. The room had big, dark doors, and the walls were painted black. It was so quiet here, it almost felt like the sound of a falling pin would echo. I felt a strange chill, and I was about to tell the girl that I would meet Mrs. Elison later, turning to leave. Before I could do so, she shoved me and slammed the door shut behind me. I was utterly in shock and don't know what just happened with me or what I will be going to do next. Without thinking , I banged on the door but there was no reply . My heart began to tremble , my breathe became fast . I don't know why this girl locked me in this dark room.
I banged on the door repeatedly, but there was no sound. The door wouldn't open, and no one seemed to hear my screamsTerrified, I gathered my courage and turned around, only to see that the room was huge, filled with various items scattered around, but still with a lot of empty space. The light in the room was so dim that the room was filled with darkness. The paint on the walls had completely peeled off. The sight of it all made me feel suffocated, and I began banging on the door again, but when there was no response, I sank down on a small, clean spot on the floor. I crouched down with my head bowed, trying to think of a way to escape.
I had always been afraid of the dark since childhood, and the sight of such a desolate place made me feel trapped. My breathing grew quicker, and my heart pounded loudly in my chest. A sense of unease was overwhelming me. I needed to get out of here. I was terrified of being alone in such a dark place, and before I knew it, the tension broke and tears began to fall, trickling down my face. My hands and feet were trembling lightly. I sat there, motionless, with tears streaming from my eyes.
I was crying, my body trembling. Then, I heard the sound of the door opening, and I lifted my gaze. Because of the tears or the darkness, I couldn't see clearly, but I started running toward the exit. I was terrified. My breathing was still rapid, but the light outside gave me a sense of relief. I kept moving toward the light, but just as I was about to reach it, something struck me sharply in the stomach, and I collapsed. The light vanished into darkness again, and the door slammed shut.
A sharp pain surged through my stomach. I had fallen to the ground, and my condition wasn't great, but I could hear familiar voices. "Why did you hit her so hard? She deserved it, you damn coward. Shut up, guys." I tried to get up, wiping the tears from my eyes, but then someone grabbed my hair and pulled me up. My legs were shaking, and I could clearly hear the sound of laughter.
I knew who it was, but my mind wasn't ready to accept the reality of how someone could fall so low. Just then, a light shone in my eyes, and the brightness hurt as it pierced through the darkness. My eyes, which had grown accustomed to the dark, were now struggling with the light. I tried to open my eyes, and after a second or two, I managed to open them completely. And there, standing in front of me, was the thing I didn't want to believe—the very thing I had been trying to deny: Elish, Hugo, and Sifra, all laughing. Their laughter concealed a terrifying, dark emptiness.
My eyes were filled with fear and restlessness, while their eyes held a mocking smile. It was dark, and there was a strange, wicked excitement in the air. They were laughing at me, while my face was soaked in tears and my hands and feet were trembling.
"Hey, why are you crying?" Elish said with sarcastic sharpness in her voice, giving me a look full of contempt. "We're your friends. It was just a joke, nothing serious."
Hugo laughed angrily, "We don't enjoy teasing innocent girls like you." He said this in a sweet tone, but then suddenly shouted, "But because of tearing that your fucking assignment, the three of us nearly got rusticated! Do you even realize how much shame we had to bear? People are saying we betrayed our own friend just because she refused to help us with an assignment!"
I didn't say a word. My eyes remained lowered.
Sifra, who had been quiet until now, stepped toward me with an angry face. Pointing her finger at me, she said, "I hate these innocent-looking girls who hide all their dirty tricks behind a sweet face."
Her words broke something inside me. This was the same girl who once never spoke to me without a smile — even if it was fake. The same girl for whom I had finished work even when I was running a high fever. And today, she couldn't even stand to look at me.
"I feel disgusted by you," she snapped, grabbing my hair and throwing me to the ground. She pressed her foot against my stomach and yelled, "Do you even know how badly I got scolded at home because of you? because we tore those four pages of yours, and you thought because of it you could destroy our lives just like that? We want to get into good colleges too! But if we had been rusticated in the final year, do you think we would have had any future?"
I was groaning in pain as she kept kicking my stomach, while Elish and Hugo just stood there and watched.
"Say it! Didn't you complain about us? You bitch! Traitor! A friend like you is worse than an enemy!"
Those words hurt my heart more than her kicks hurt my body. The same people I had called friends were now the ones giving me these wounds.
I said in a weak, shaky voice, "I didn't do it... but I won't apologize. Only those who are wrong apologize, and I wasn't the one who complained..."
But Sifra wasn't listening. She started pressing my face under her shoe. My face throbbed in pain. Tears streamed down my eyes.
"Feels good now?" she sneered. "You wanted to ruin our names, right? Now it's your turn. Bitch! What did you gain by breaking our friendship? Do you have any other friends now?"
Elish laughed mockingly. Sifra joined her, pressing my face harder as she added, "You didn't like us being nice to you? Now suffer! Do you even know why we kept you around as a friend? Because you were useful. Otherwise, who would befriend a backward, worthless girl like you?"
Hearing those words shattered me completely. Maybe she was right... after all, who would ever truly love or care for a girl like me? Someone who can't even do anything right.
Tears continued to fall from my eyes...
"We gave you our smiles, our time — even if fake smiles or forced time — you should be thankful we even talked to you, understand?" Sifra pressed her foot harder against me.
Just then, I heard footsteps approaching — it was Hugo.
"Sifra, doing this to such an innocent girl… it's wrong," he said in a tone sweet on the surface but carrying something dark underneath.
His voice didn't feel right to me.
He gently moved Sifra's foot off my face and leaned closer, looking at me in a strange, unsettling way. Sifra and Elish ignored Hugo's behavior, as if it meant nothing.
His gaze felt disgusting. He brought his hand near my face, his fingers trailing across my cheek — a touch that made me feel sick.
I wanted to move away.
In a low, shaky voice, I said, "Move your hand away from my face."
He looked at me and laughed. Elish and Sifra laughed too.
Just then, a sharp pain struck my stomach — Elish had kicked me.
She leaned down, grabbed my chin with two fingers, and said mockingly, "Freya, have you ever spent the night with a guy? It feels amazing.
We're your friends — so we want you to experience that too. That's why Hugo will help you."
Hugo wiped my tears, but his touch made my skin crawl.
I jerked his hand away.
He looked at me and whispered, "These next few moments… we'll be alone in this room. Don't be shy."
Hearing those words, I fell completely silent.
Fear tightened its grip on me.
That incident from the house party came rushing back into my mind, except this time... I didn't even have Adri with me.
What should I do? How do I protect myself from this monster?
I placed my hand over my aching stomach and slowly tried to stand.
My legs trembled, lips quivered, and tears filled my eyes, but the three of them just laughed.
Hugo tried to help me up, but I pushed his hand away and stood on my own.
With a cracked, pleading voice, I said, "Let me go… please… I didn't do anything… just let me go…"
But they didn't listen.
Elish and Hugo forcefully dragged me to the corner of the room and threw me down.
Sifra was doing something on the wall nearby, but my pain, fear, and confusion were so overwhelming, I couldn't even focus.
I kept muttering the same words to myself, "Let me go... please..."
I tried to get up again, but my legs failed me, and I collapsed.
Elish and Sifra walked up to me and smirked.
"Enjoy your moment, Freya," they said, mocking me with their fake laughs.
Sifra kicked me once more and signaled to Hugo with her eyes. Then both of them left.
Now, it was just me and Hugo.
He began walking toward me.
His smile — once charming — now filled me with disgust.
There was something vile in his grin, something that made my chest tighten with fear.
I began to beg, "Don't come near me… please, don't… I—"
But he gently cupped my cheek and whispered,
"today, it's just you and me. We're going to have fun, aren't we?"
I slapped his hand away and sobbed, "Please, let me go!"
But Hugo didn't care.
His eyes remained full of twisted desire.
"Let you go?" he laughed.
"The house party… remember? You ruined things for me and Adri. What didn't happen that night… will happen today."
Hearing that, I panicked even more.
I tried to crawl away, but he kept coming closer.
His face neared mine, his lips only inches from mine —
And that's when something in me exploded.
From deep inside my terror, a spark of rage flared.
I raised my hand — and slapped him across the face, hard.
Maybe that sudden slap caught him completely off guard.
He stared at me with rage burning in his eyes and pulled my hair roughly, dragging my face close to his.
But before he could say anything, I raised my knee with all the strength I had left and struck him hard in the stomach.
A loud groan of pain escaped his lips.
He loosened his grip and collapsed to the floor, clutching his stomach, cursing me through gritted teeth.
Taking advantage of that moment, I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the door, banging on it desperately.
I started screaming, crying, hoping—praying—that someone would hear.
"All I need is for someone to hear me—just once. Please God, send someone. Please..."
I cried and banged on the door as loud as I could.
But then…
I heard it.
The slow, deliberate footsteps.
Hugo was getting up.
"My girl," he said, his voice low and twisted.
"You're not getting out of here today. Why are you trying so hard?"
"This day… it belongs to us."
When I turned to look at him, his smile was gone. it gave me fear , anger , pain , sadness ,betrayal , disgust ,
There was only rage on his face now—mixed with a disgusting kind of pleasure.
He walked closer.
And then—
he took off his shirt.
My heart froze.
Terror gripped every inch of me.
I slammed the door harder, faster—screaming for help—but no one came.
I tried to run again, but he caught my wrist.
I struggled, thrashed, sobbing, "Let me go! Please!"
But he wouldn't listen.
With one hand, he grabbed my face, caressing my lips.
That touch—
It made me sick.
I wanted to vomit.
I felt disgusted, filthy, terrified.
"Hugo, let me go!" I cried.
"How can you stoop so low?"
Maybe those words angered him more,
Because he suddenly yanked my hair again and began dragging me toward the corner of the room.
I fought back harder, thrashing, hitting, kicking—
I thought maybe… maybe this was it. Maybe it was all over.
But then—
I heard it.
The sound of the door unlocking.
I thought it was a trick of my mind. A false hope.
But no. The door… it really began to open.
My chest filled with a flicker of desperate hope, so fragile it could've broken with a breath.
From behind me, I heard Hugo's voice — sharp, panicked.
"F*ck! Who the hell is here?! Where are Elish and Sifra? They were supposed to be watching!"
Cursing under his breath, Hugo hastily pulled on his shirt and rushed toward the back — disappearing into the shadows of the storage area.
I didn't understand what he was doing, or why he was running that way, but none of it mattered.
I just wanted to get out.
But fear still coiled inside me like a snake, hissing,
"What if it's Elish? What if Sifra is back?"
And then —
The light came.
The door creaked open wider, and standing there was a tall boy, silhouetted in the glow.
He was… breathtaking.
Hair tousled, like he had run through wind and shadows.
His eyes locked onto me, wide and horrified, holding shock, fear… and a depth of pain I couldn't explain.
I didn't know what happened inside me. I didn't even think.
I just ran.
My legs moved before my brain did.
And the next moment —
I threw myself into his arms.
Without a word. Without a thought.
I just held him.