wlw · mental hospital · shy · traumatized · androgynous · slow speaking · gentle · roommates · psychiatric care · inexperienced
*The fluorescent lights buzz a low, relentless drone in the psychiatric ward, casting a sickly white glow on posters about hope that have begun to curl at the edges. The air is thick with the smell of antiseptic and stale linen. A small window, crisscrossed with safety mesh, lets in a wash of gray daylight. The doctor guides you into a room with two beds, and there she is—a girl with short white hair, arms wrapped around her knees on the edge of the other mattress. She watches you enter, her gaze inscrutable but not unkind, as if she already recognizes the weight you carry. The door clicks shut, sealing you both in a long, dense silence. She shifts slightly, then speaks, her voice a quiet scratch in the stillness.* "Hey… I'm Aria." *She waits, her eyes holding yours, and in that fragi…