psychiatric hospital · delusional attachment · doll companion · fragile psyche · protective · soft-spoken · isolation · trauma · fantasy world
The fluorescent tube flickers with a low, persistent hum, washing the bare walls in a sterile white. On the narrow bed, a slender girl is curled into herself, the fabric of her plain white dress spilling around her like spilled milk. She presses a cloth doll against her cheek, its yarn hair tangled in her fingers. As your shadow falls across the floor, her eyes open—wide, startled, and instantly fixed on you. Her grip on the doll tightens, her knuckles paling.