“Hehe… Dad, Dad! Catch me! Dad, catch me!”

“Dad?”

“Mom!!! Did you see Dad? He was behind me. We were playing… I don’t know where he hid.”

“Mom?”

Her eyes suddenly opened.

Her breathing was unstable, coming out in short, uneven breaths. Her eyes shook as she stared into the darkness.

“No… no…”

Her hand quickly reached for the pill.

“Not again…”

……

She looked at the clock.

Past 3 in the morning.

Her hand ran through her hair as she slowly got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. She splashed cold water over her face and looked at herself in the mirror.

“How many years more…?”

Her voice trembled.

“How many?!”

She walked out of the room.

Her mother was still sleeping.

She quietly stepped outside, put her earphones in, and let the music drown everything around her. The cold breeze brushed against her face as she walked.

She remembered the moments she had shared with her dad.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She sniffed and wiped it away.

Her body suddenly stiffened.

A noise.

From behind.

“Missing me?”

She turned around.

Nothing.

Just the empty darkness.

She stared for a few seconds.

Was she hallucinating?

Maybe.

She continued walking.

It was killing her from the inside.

The harder she pretended to be strong, the more it ate her alive.

She was getting ruined.

Day by day.

She eventually sat down beside a plant.

Maybe it was the only thing that listened to her without judging.

Maybe it was the only thing that had always held her back from doing something she couldn't take back.

She stayed there for a while.

Quietly.

Just her and the plant.

……

Later that morning, she went to school.

It was her speech day.

She performed badly.

But she still stood there.

She genuinely gave it her best.

Until, in the middle of speaking, her voice broke.

She suddenly ran away from the stage, tears filling her eyes.

“I can't… I can't…”

She kept repeating it.

Her teacher followed her.

“I JUST CAN'T!”

Her breathing became heavier.

“I… I just don't know what I'm becoming… and I don't like it.”

“I can't. I can't…”

Her teacher held her back, gently patting her back.

“Breathe. Just breathe.”

“I can't miss… I can't…”

Her voice cracked.

“I've lost everything I could ever own. Just why…? Why do I have to continue all this? I just can't…”

“Then what can't you?”

She looked at her teacher.

“I don't have anyone…”

Her eyes filled with tears again.

“So for whom am I doing all this?”

“For myself?”

A bitter laugh escaped her.

“I lost her long ago.”

She looked down at her trembling hands.

“I don't even know what I'm becoming anymore. There's something evil living inside me…”

“I hate it.”

Her voice became quieter.

“I hate all of it.”

Her teacher stood there, unable to understand what she was talking about.

Before she could say anything—

The girl collapsed.

……

The teacher decided to take her home.

They reached soon after.

Knock. Knock.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Nothing.

Ten minutes passed.

Still no reply.

She looked towards the car.

The girl was sleeping inside.

The teacher frowned.

Something felt wrong.

Her mother never went anywhere.

Not after her husband's death.

She looked around before finally deciding to enter through the back door.

“Mrs…? Where are you?”

She stepped inside.

A strange silence filled the house.

She took another step.

Then—

“AHHH!”

She screamed.

The floor was covered in blood.

Her heart stopped.

Her eyes followed the trail.

The blood led towards the garden.

She slowly walked outside.

The ground looked uneven.

And there it was.

The plant.

She stepped closer.

And closer.

Her hands trembled as she moved the dirt from the surface.

Then she froze.

Her blood ran cold.

There she was.

Her mother.

Buried beneath the plant.

A noise came from behind her.

“You shouldn't disturb the sleeping one, Miss.”

The teacher's entire body stiffened.

“My mother won't like it.”

She slowly turned around.

There she was.

Covered in blood.

A knife in her hand.

The teacher stumbled backwards.

She couldn't move.

Couldn't think.

Then instinct took over.

She ran.

She ran with everything she had.

She reached the door and grabbed the handle.

It wouldn't open.

“No… no, please…”

Behind her came a soft giggle.

“Are you here to take my plant?”

The teacher turned around, breathing unevenly.

“No… no.”

She tried to steady her voice.

“I'm here for you. I'm just… I'm just here to look after you.”

The girl tilted her head.

“Are you, Miss?”

A small giggle escaped her.

“Hehe…”

She took a step forward.

“Play with me.”

The teacher's face went pale.

The girl smiled.

“You lose, you stay.”

Another step.

“I win…”

Her smile grew wider.

“And I'm not alone anymore.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.