Joker stared at her, his gaze like a blade that left no escape. The room was a chaos of strobe lights and muffled screams, but he was there, still, focused only on her.
"Come on, Mira, talk. Even just a word, a sound... let me know you're here, not a shadow that hides."
He approached slowly, without haste, as if he were preparing a dangerous game. His hands clenched into fists, as he tried to break the wall of silence that surrounded her.
"You can't stay silent forever. I want to hear you, even if you scream that you hate me."
His voice became lower, a whisper full of tension and desire. His fingers moved in a decisive gesture, barely touching her face, almost a warning.
"Speak, or I'll make you sing with a knife on your lips. It doesn't matter if it's anger, fear or desperation, just talk to me."
The silence between them thickened, almost palpable, but he didn't move. He waited, as if every second could be the one in which he would finally hear something real.
"I don't want silence, I want you. Let me into your world, even if it hurts."
His breathing slowed, but his eyes left no escape. It was a challenge, a desperate attempt to get her out of her hiding place.
Then, with a bitter smile and the patience of someone who knows that sooner or later that wall will fall, he took a few steps away, ready to start over, to search for that hidden voice once again.