The room is stifling, the air thick with heat that presses against my chest, making it hard to breathe. I lie there, tangled in sheets that stick to my skin like they’ve fused with my body. The faint hum of the city outside is the only sound that fills the space, but it’s not enough to drown out the buzzing in my head.

I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. That I’m drowning in my own thoughts, caught in a loop I can’t break. Maa’s face, her disappointment, the way she tried so hard to reach me, and my father’s anger—each scene replays like a broken record. I can’t escape it.

I close my eyes, but sleep refuses to come. The guilt weighs on me, a constant pressure that I can’t shake. I didn’t mean to lash out at her like that. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.

But I can’t stay here, suffocating in my own skin. I need to move, to get away from the heaviness of the room.

With a frustrated grunt, I fling the blankets off and slide out of bed. The coldness of the floor meets my bare feet, but I don’t care. I just need to get outside, to feel something that’s not this suffocating silence.

The balcony door creaks open, and the sudden rush of cool air hits me. I stand there for a moment, letting the wind cut through the thick fog of my thoughts. It feels like a slap to the face, a reminder that there’s something beyond the confines of this room. Something bigger, something alive.

The city sprawls below me, glowing in unnatural neon hues. It’s vibrant, alive with motion, but it feels so distant, so disconnected from me. My mind drifts back to the conversation with Maa, and the weight of it pulls at my chest.

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I’m here, but I’m not really here.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see it.

A flash.

White. Jagged. Blinding, like lightning, but without the sound. A streak of light cutting through the dark night sky.

My breath hitches in my throat.

Did I see that?

I blink, my eyes narrowing, trying to focus. But it’s gone. Just a brief flash, as though it never existed.

I turn away, but then—

It happens again.

This time, brighter. More intense.

I freeze, heart pounding. It’s no ordinary flash of light. It’s like a presence in the night, sharp and electric, but fleeting. Uncertain. Just a pulse, a single burst of energy in the dark expanse.

I can’t explain it, but I know it’s different. It feels... important.

The wind picks up, sharp and cold. I step forward, my body leaning toward the edge of the balcony. There’s no logical reason for it. No sound to draw me. No voice calling me to it. But something deep inside stirs, a spark of curiosity.

I stare at the forest in the distance, where the light came from. The trees are nothing but a dark silhouette against the horizon. Silent. Unmoving.

But I can’t ignore what I just saw.

It flickers again.

Brighter this time. My whole body feels it, deep in my chest. A pulse that feels almost like it’s vibrating the air around me. My breath catches, a strange tension building in my throat. It’s as if the world is holding its breath, waiting. But for what?

I don’t know.

But I can’t look away.

My heartbeat quickens. My hands tremble as I grip the balcony railing, my body taut with a mixture of unease and intrigue. I want to understand. I want to know what that was, what’s causing it.

But it’s so far away. The forest feels so unreachable, the night so silent. The city behind me is too noisy, too synthetic. This is something else. Something... beyond the hum of the world around me.

What is it?

I don’t know.

But I feel like I need to understand it. The more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense, even if it doesn’t.

Another flicker.

My heart skips a beat, and I take a step back from the edge. The air around me is charged now, filled with something I can’t describe. The room behind me feels distant now, as though it doesn’t matter. I can’t focus on anything but the trees, the forest, the spark that’s out there.

I don’t know what this is.

But I....