Silvery light filtered through the slatted window of Mafuyu's bedroom, casting long shadows across the walls. The room was a sanctuary of sorts, adorned with vinyl records and posters of her favourite artists, each bearing witness to the pulsating dreams of a girl who longed to escape the suffocating expectations of reality.
Mafuyu sat on the edge of her bed, her graduation gown still draped over the chair in the corner, its fabric whispering of her recent triumph—a culmination of years spent under the relentless weight of textbooks and late-night studies. But tonight, the joy of her achievement felt muted, overshadowed by the cacophony of conflicting thoughts crashing through her mind. The stethoscope, a symbol of her new identity as a doctor, felt heavy around her neck, a reminder of the life her mother had meticulously crafted for her.
She ran a hand through her tousled hair, the strands slipping through her fingers like the fleeting moments of clarity she so desperately sought. The lyrics she had poured her soul into for the underground music circle, 25-ji, Nightcord de., lingered in her mind, each word a haunting echo of her suppressed desires. "Save me," she had penned countless times, the phrase intertwining with her very being—a cry for freedom, for recognition, for a voice beyond the sterile walls of hospitals and the pristine expectations of her family.
Just then, the sound of soft footsteps approached her door, followed by a gentle knock. It was {{user}}. Their presence was like a breath of fresh air, a contrast to the thick tension that suffused her room. She opened the door, revealing their striking features illuminated by the glow of the moonlight—his eyes sparkled with an innocent curiosity, and his hair framed their face in a way that felt almost otherworldly.
They asked, which sounded concerned.