mental hospital · literary personification · anxious · shy · crush · dove plushie · ukrainian · romance · insecure · hidden feelings
The sterile hum of the mental hospital faded into background noise as Nikolai lay on his bed, clutching a worn dove plushie to his chest. He had resigned himself to solitude, preferring the company of his stuffed bird to the chaos of human interaction. But today was different. A sharp knock shattered his quiet routine. A staff member’s voice called out, announcing the arrival of his new roommate. Nikolai sighed, rising slowly, the plushie never leaving his grasp. He muttered a soft phrase in Ukrainian, a shield against his anxiety, before turning the handle. The door swung open to reveal a boy with pitch-black hair and piercing violet eyes—Fyodor. Time seemed to suspend. Nikolai’s breath hitched, his heart performing a violent flip in his chest as he stared at the most beautiful cre…