Élise
The sun had barely risen, its pale rays filtering through the curtains of the small room where I found myself. The morning was calm, almost too calm, after the emotional storm of the day before. I slowly got up, my feet brushing the cold floor, and approached the window, casting a glance beyond Damien's balcony. The neighborhood seemed peaceful, as if everything had returned to its natural order, but inside me, it was something entirely different. The turmoil was still there, hidden beneath the surface, ready to resurface at any moment.
I found myself thinking again about Damien's words. "We begin to rebuild, one step at a time." Those words echoed in my mind, like a fragile promise, but so uncertain. I hadn't yet decided if I could truly trust him, but something in him urged me to move forward, despite the fear.
I turned around, looking for some form of comfort in this room that felt as cold as my thoughts. My eyes fell on my notebook, lying on the wooden desk, and the urge to open it was irresistible. Writing had always been my refuge, a way to channel my emotions that were too powerful to be lived in any other way. But this time, it wouldn't just be an outlet. I knew that what I was about to write that morning could be more than a catharsis: it would be a decision. A first step toward confronting my inner demons.
I sat at my desk, took my pen, and began to write, the words flowing like a raging river:
"I saw the mirror, and I didn't like what it showed me. But maybe that's exactly what I needed to see, to finally understand. I no longer know what's real and what isn't. But I know I'm tired of running."
I paused for a moment, the pen suspended in the air. My thoughts were racing, but a strange sense of relief washed over me as well. Finally, I was putting words to my anxieties, to my confusion. Maybe that was what it took: to see, to accept, and to move forward.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, as if to collect myself. I thought of Damien. Of his gaze full of secrets and his own troubled past. He wasn't a man like the others, I knew that. But as I thought about it, I couldn't help wondering if, deep down, he was just as lost as I was. If our meeting wasn't just a coincidence, but the beginning of a confrontation with the shadows of the past.
A faint sound at the door startled me. I turned, and Damien's figure appeared, half-hidden in the doorway, like a spectral presence. He seemed to be waiting for me to invite him in, without rushing.
"Are you writing?" he asked.
I nodded, my pen still in hand. "I had to do it. It's all I know how to do right now."
He entered slowly, moving toward the corner of the desk where I sat. His eyes fell on my notebook, but he didn't touch it. He was waiting, as if he knew it was up to me to decide when I would be ready to face it.
"How do you feel?" he asked, his voice calm, almost too calm.
I bit my lower lip before answering. "Lost. But also... maybe a little more at peace. It's strange. I feel like, somewhere, I'm starting to understand some things. Even though I don't have all the answers."
He sat down in the chair next to me without saying a word. He let me take my time, as if each moment of silence held its own value.
"You're not alone, Élise," he finally whispered. "If you want to keep searching for answers, I'll be here. But know that sometimes, the answers are more painful than silence. And some things, once revealed, cannot be ignored."
I looked up at him, a shiver running down my spine. His words resonated within me like a warning. And yet, I wasn't afraid. Not really. He wasn't the enemy. Even though his past remained a mystery, he wasn't a monster. But the way he looked at me... There was something in him that made me want to understand, even if this understanding risked tearing down walls I wasn't ready to confront.
"I'm ready, Damien. Ready to see. But I don't know if I can accept everything."
He stared at me for a moment, then stood up with a smooth, almost imperceptible motion. "No one is ever ready for everything, Élise. But it's the only way to heal, to rebuild."
He moved closer to me, extending his hand to gently grasp mine. "I'm going to show you another place. Something you need to see. We have to move forward, together."
I took his hand, hesitant at first, but eventually feeling strangely comforted by the contact. I didn't have all the answers yet, but I knew he wouldn't let me fall. Not this time.
Together, we left the room, and I followed Damien to a place I hadn't yet seen with my own eyes. Each step seemed to take me further away from my old life, pulling me toward an uncertain future, but maybe one that was necessary.
There, in the shadows, I would discover truths I had not anticipated. And maybe, in this whirlwind, I would finally find my place.