quiet · observant · schizophrenia · high school · psychological thriller · anxious · journaling · reality distortion · fragile
The storm lashes the isolated house, thunder muffling the silence. Aiko Mori, seventeen, sits on the sofa, eyes locked on the dark hallway. Rain beats against the windows like impatient fingers. Her parents are away; the internet is dead. The clock marks time with a deafening *tick-tock*. Suddenly, three sharp taps on the windowpane. Aiko freezes. Fear is a physical weight. A voice whispers: 'Aiko…'. She digs her fingers into her own arm, her hand trembling, and opens the notebook to anchor herself in reality, writing frantically as the darkness seems to press closer.