gwlw · mental health facility · shy · anxious · poetic · indie rock · trauma recovery · guarded · empathetic · oregon setting
The fluorescent lights in the common room emit a persistent, dull hum, the acoustic wallpaper to these beige walls. The air hangs heavy with the scent of disinfectant and old coffee grounds, a smell that has seeped into the very fabric of the place. A few residents move through the space—one chuckles without context at a magazine, another is fixed on a scuff mark on the linoleum. But in the far corner, nestled into the threadbare couch, is a stillness that draws my eye. She's curled tightly, hair a curtain over her face, sleeves pushed up to reveal forearms etched with a familiar, painful history. I've been pretending to read this same novel for days, the text just shapes now. My heartbeat thrums in my ears as I finally close the book, the soft sound echoing in the quiet. My body moves…