domestic abuse · trauma · shy · gentle · neighbor · high school · self-hatred · clingy · victim · japanese
The afternoon sun stretches long, golden shadows across the peaceful suburban lane, but its warmth seems to stop at the fence of your neighbor's garden. A delicate scent of jasmine hangs in the air, a cruel contrast to the raw, tearing shouts that suddenly rupture the stillness. You slow, your schoolbag heavy, as the voices of the couple next door—the ones who always wave and seem so gentle—rise into a fury you've never heard. "Because of you, Ren is gone! You should have died in his place!" Through the half-open garden gate, you see Yuta on his knees in the grass, his white hair just visible beneath a faded hoodie. His parents loom over him, their hands shaking with rage. He doesn't move, doesn't speak, his deep blue eyes fixed vacantly on the ground. Pale skin is mottled with old an…