-???-

I finally came face-to-face with the shadow men—the ones that had been trailing me ever since my transformation was complete, my entire body now fully consumed by the gray. At first, I thought they were just hallucinations, fragments of my deteriorating mind brought on by the graying. But in this cursed place, who can truly say what's real anymore?

They didn't speak or move with purpose. They simply stood at a distance, watching. Silent, featureless figures with only those two gray dots for eyes, always observing. One of them came closer today—so close I could almost reach out and touch it. Yet, even then, it did nothing. It just loomed near me, quiet as ever. I thought, perhaps, they were waiting for something—waiting for me to complete my transformation, to fully succumb to the gray. But that wasn't it. Even though I’m entirely gray now, they still do nothing but watch. I tried reaching out to it, just to see if it was truly there, but the moment my hand neared, it recoiled like a shadow fleeing from the light.

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Maybe these beings aren’t just figments of my imagination after all. Maybe they're my jailers, sent to make sure I never leave this place. To monitor my torment and see that I remain trapped in this endless purgatory. They do nothing, say nothing, but their presence is constant. It doesn't matter if they're real or not, though. None of it matters anymore.

I’m so tired. More tired than I’ve ever been. The idea of rest—true rest—feels like a distant memory, something just out of reach. All I want is to fall asleep and stay there. To never wake again. To dream about my childhood, about my meemaw and those simple, happy days, where life still made sense. I want to drift back to that place, to stay with her forever, and never have to wake up to this gray, meaningless existence again.