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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA4gBJlzS6qr
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAs253UvGlQG
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAyA2574I2MP
No.
164Please respect copyright.PENANASmaJWoZUpq
What was the point?
164Please respect copyright.PENANAVc23qS3BKH
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAzWXkPT13FO
A short laugh escaped his lips, bitter and silent.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAXeGScq2lV4
“Pathetic.”
164Please respect copyright.PENANApr43tRUSee
The word tasted like rust in his mouth.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAGVkyttndPI
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAt8a5GaNmxw
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAfrRyEShaxZ
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAp5ydyFDzef
Gray clouds covered the sky, thick and heavy, blocking the sun.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAwFB8mGaAtR
“Of course”
164Please respect copyright.PENANAkZRiwddDeH
He murmured.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAvBA2B1apeP
Even the weather seemed indifferent.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAFeWgyqcw9W
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAdALteJreIM
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAvoH4Lfew6r
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAYerfDcaRmI
“Maybe today.”
164Please respect copyright.PENANAJHroIMgqdD
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAJqF0ge5UFW
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA9OpN8U5Q3z
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA7vVp40JKlC
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAQwrpJZsLLX
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAQ0LPUJAZk6
He grabbed the keys and walked to the door of the room.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAQUNTuVp2D2
He stopped.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAXfqBxUOnEg
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAjW2kEgqGBE
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA18Rki0OsVo
His fingers gripped the knob with such force that they turned completely white.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAB4DUADqy4Z
Click.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAHLaxogBElX
The door opened.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA5ScBQbYNNf
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?
164Please respect copyright.PENANAwTm5nffB1b
One step.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAhekfB58IjK
Then another.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAQhdD6k4QQz
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA34VlvVc5rw
Sighing, he decided to force himself to move. His right hand touched the door, sliding slowly until it—
164Please respect copyright.PENANAagOwEC2RhC
Ring ring.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAnp76h31X3K
His eyes opened wide.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAS95WEf5gX2
“Ahhh—!”
164Please respect copyright.PENANAXrQElri82q
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAFuYNjOZyag
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.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAVvWBVcvv44
Ring ring.
164Please respect copyright.PENANADsGZ0DxKJT
Knock knock.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAAoU9e0F9Cg
His body trembled. His hands were sweaty, muscles tense.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAtsr5iop3o5
No… not now…
164Please respect copyright.PENANAy1iyEekTE4
He thought, his mind spiraling into panic.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAYcsLaf7Xhr
Who could it be? No one knew he was here. No one should be here.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAy9cDhiS6Js
Ring ring.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAU4iVtCZnN0
Go away, leave me alone.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAvaYdcDl0XZ
He held his breath.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAi65JhLHNjM
Silence.
164Please respect copyright.PENANA6CbdAWwzGP
And then—
164Please respect copyright.PENANAKW9fuQsDZm
“Is anyone there?”
164Please respect copyright.PENANAGelpHbk3au
The voice on the other side of the door echoed softly, muffled but clear enough to freeze the blood in his veins.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAZAyqM3pr3n
The young man didn’t answer.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAsROQyxH9d3
His expression went pale.
164Please respect copyright.PENANAoFYc9cuu2F
Drops of cold sweat slid down his forehead.