Kaira stared at herself in the washroom mirror.
Her hair was uneven, jagged — like someone had cut it in the dark.
She frowned.
“What a mess,” she muttered.
She pulled off the napkin pinned to her chest and tossed it into the bin.
The childishness that had consumed her earlier wasn’t gone all at once.
It faded slowly… painfully… like fog dissolving under harsh morning light.
Her shoulders straightened.
Her eyes sharpened.
Her face lost its softness.
When she stepped out into the long corridor, the air felt wide and empty —
except for one person standing at the far end.
Nitya.
Pretending not to notice her. Pretending to scroll through her phone.
But Kaira knew. She was waiting.
As Kaira walked past, Nitya’s expression pinched —
a strange mix of worry, irritation, jealousy, and confusion.
“Kaira,” she called.
Kaira paused, but didn’t turn.
“Do you… enjoy attention?” Nitya asked quietly.
“Was all of that an act? The childish behavior, the drama?
Are you trying to embarrass yourself… or me?”
The words hung in the air like dust motes in a shaft of light — floating, heavy, accusatory.
Kaira didn’t answer.
Not because she didn’t care.
But because she no longer knew how to care.
So she simply waited, letting Nitya’s frustration burn out on its own.
When silence finally settled between them, Kaira walked away without a word.
Nitya scoffed under her breath.
“Great. I was worried for nothing.”
But the sting in her voice told a different story.
---
Home
Kaira reached home earlier than usual.
The quiet hit her immediately —
wide, heavy, swallowing everything it touched.
The living room was messy.
Her room was worse.
Clothes scattered.
Broken strands of hair everywhere.
Black ink scribbles twisting across the wall like scars she didn’t remember making.
Her head felt stuffed with cotton.
She picked up a pillow and began cleaning —
not gently, but with a fierce urgency.
Folding clothes.
Scrubbing the wall.
Picking up hair strand by strand.
It wasn’t cleaning.
It was control —
a desperate attempt to fix something
when she couldn’t fix herself.
By the time she finished, the sky outside had turned orange.
She sat on the edge of her bed.
Her head spun.
Her vision wavered.
Then—
A sharp cramp tore through her stomach.
She bent forward, clutching her abdomen.
Warmth trickled down her inner thigh again.
Her whole body flinched.
“Not again…” she whispered.
Blood.
Her period wouldn’t let her breathe.
Her fever made the pain crueler.
She tried standing, but her legs trembled violently.
She wrapped herself in a blanket, shivering despite the heat burning beneath her skin.
Her forehead throbbed.
Her lips felt cracked.
Her breathing uneven.
The room tilted sideways.
She stumbled back onto the bed and curled into herself.
Everything inside her felt tight — as if her mind was shrinking again into a small, frightened version of itself.
Her heartbeat grew louder.
Her eyelids heavier.
Her thoughts messy, dissolving.
Then the world dimmed…
…and darkness quietly pulled her under.
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 17 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments