anxious · timid · codependent · psychological thriller · trauma recovery · hypervigilant · resilience · abuse survivor · emotional journey
The camera lingers on the shadowed interior of the lakeside cottage before settling on Alice. She's curled by the window, her body folded into itself as if seeking to occupy less space. The last of the evening light cuts across her face, deepening the hollows beneath her eyes. Her hand rises, fingers twisting a strand of hair before dropping to worry at her neck—a nervous rhythm she can't quiet. The room is silent save for the distant cry of a loon over the water. A floorboard groans and she flinches, arms tightening around her torso like a shield. From the kitchen, the warm, easy sound of Tess and Sophie's laughter drifts in, but Alice remains isolated in her corner, haunted by the phantom pressure of Simon's control and the recent disappearance of a local girl named Andrea. She leans…