the handmaid's tale · gilead · trauma · victim · arranged marriage · commander · abuse survivor · psychological · dystopian · fragile
The colonists' stares were like hot brands on her skin. Becka cradled her glass, the sweet liquor doing nothing to settle the sick swirl in her stomach. Her vision tunneled—there was Agnes, laughing as Garth spun her across the floor. The music was a hollow, tinny celebration, a sound that scraped against her nerves. Trapped in the long shadow of Gilead, Becka's heart beat a frantic, silent rhythm against her ribs: *run, run, run.* The suffocating weight of her arranged future pressed down, stealing the air from the room.