CHAPTER TWO: WHEN SILENCE STARTED LIVING WITH HER
1082 Words
Prisca did not remember how she got back into her house that day.
She was on her knees surrounded by voices she could not understand and the next moment she was sitting on a chair inside her room staring at a wall that no longer felt like her own wall.
Nothing made sense to Prisca anymore.
Time was not behaving normally.
People moved around Prisca. She did not follow their movements.
Their voices. Went like distant waves hitting a shore she could no longer reach.
Her uncle, Samuel Brown stayed close to Prisca.
He spoke to people.
He answered questions.
He arranged things Prisca did not even want to think about.
Whenever Samuel Brown looked at Prisca his expression changed.
It was like he was looking at someone who had already left the world but was still physically present.
Samuel Brown said softly one evening "Eat something " placing a plate beside Prisca.
Prisca did not move.
He sat down slowly beside Prisca.
Prisca had not eaten since yesterday.
There was no response from Prisca.
He waited.
Then Samuel Brown spoke again quieter this time.
"I know it hurts.. Prisca is still here."
That sentence stayed in the air longer than the others.
Prisca blinked slowly like the act of blinking required effort she no longer had.
Prisca felt like something had been removed from inside her leaving a shape that looked like her body.
Her uncle. Stood up again.
There were no words he could force into Priscas silence.
So Samuel Brown left Prisca there.
The days that followed did not feel like days to Prisca.
They felt like repeated moments of the pain replaying without permission.
People came to Priscas house.
They spoke in tones.
Some touched her shoulder briefly as if contact could transfer comfort.
Others simply looked at Prisca with faces that tried not to show much emotion.
Prisca barely reacted to anything.
Prisca would sit in one place for hours without moving.
Sometimes Prisca would whisper her mothers name under her breath.
Sometimes Prisca would start to say her fathers name and stop halfway like saying it out loud made the reality heavier.
At night sleep did not come easily to Prisca.
When it did it did not bring rest.
It brought memories.
Her fathers voice.
Her mothers cooking.
The sound of morning in a house that no longer existed.
And each time Prisca woke up there was a moment— one moment—where she forgot.
Before remembering
Breaking all over.
Royal Hope Academy resumed calling Prisca after some time.
Royal Hope Academy did not pause for grief.
Institutions rarely do.
Diamond was the first to notice Prisca was gone for long.
Then Pina started asking questions.
One afternoon Diamond showed up at Priscas house.
She stood at the gate for a time before entering as if she could sense that something inside had changed permanently.
When Diamond saw Prisca sitting inside the room she froze.
Not because Prisca looked different physically.
Because Prisca looked… absent.
"Prisca?" Diamond called carefully.
Prisca turned slowly.
Her eyes met Diamonds.
For a moment Diamond didn’t speak again.
Because there was nothing in Priscas eyes that resembled the girl Diamond knew.
"I’ve been calling you " Diamond said finally trying to sound normal.
Prisca didn’t respond immediately.
Then Prisca said quietly "I didn’t hear."
Diamond stepped closer.
"They said… your parents…"
She stopped.
She didn’t finish the sentence.
Prisca looked away.
That was answer.
Pina arrived after.
She didn’t speak much.
She just stood near the doorway watching Prisca like she was afraid that speaking too loudly would make something inside Prisca collapse further.
"I’m sorry " Pina finally said softly.
Prisca nodded once.
It didn’t mean acceptance.
It just meant Prisca heard Pina.
Uncle Samuel made sure Prisca returned to Royal Hope Academy eventually.
Not because Prisca was ready.
Because staying inside the house was slowly turning Prisca into something unrecognizable.
The day Prisca returned everything felt louder than before.
Voices.
Laughter.
Movement.
Life continuing as if nothing had happened.
That was what shocked Prisca most.
The world did not stop.
For Prisca.
Diamond walked beside Prisca silently that morning.
Pina stayed behind.
No one joked.
No one laughed.
They just walked with Prisca.
When they reached the school gate Prisca stopped for a moment.
Prisca stared at it.
The same gate Prisca had walked through a hundred times before.
Now it felt like a boundary between two versions of Priscas life.
"I don’t want to go " Prisca said suddenly.
Diamond looked at Prisca.
"You have to."
Prisca shook her head slightly.
"Nothing is the same."
Pina stepped closer.
"It won’t ever be the same again."
That truth landed heavily.
Prisca didn’t argue.
Because Prisca already knew.
So Prisca walked in.
Inside the classroom nothing had changed.
Desks were still arranged the way.
Teachers still spoke in the tone.
Students still laughed at the things.
Prisca was no longer part of that rhythm.
Prisca sat quietly at her desk not speaking unless spoken to.
Sometimes Prisca would look outside the window. Forget Prisca was in a classroom at all.
Priscas mind was always else.
Somewhere quieter.
Somewhere empty.
Diamond tried to pull Prisca with jokes.
Pina tried with silence.
Prisca remained distant.
Slowly without noticing Prisca began changing in ways Prisca could not explain.
Not dramatically.
Not suddenly.
Quietly.
Like something inside Prisca was learning how to survive without light.
One evening Uncle Samuel sat with Prisca again.
He noticed the change immediately.
"You are not the girl " he said gently.
Prisca didn’t respond.
He continued.
"I know you think life ended that day."
Silence.
". It didn’t."
Still no response.
Then Samuel Brown said something
"Prisca is still here for a reason."
Prisca finally looked at him.
Priscas voice came out faint.
"What reason?"
He hesitated.
Because he didn’t have an answer.
Sometimes adults don’t.
"I don’t know yet " he admitted honestly.
That honesty stayed with Prisca longer than comfort ever could.
That night Prisca lay on her bed again.
Something was different.
Not healing.
Not peace.
Just awareness.
Awareness that the world, outside Priscas pain was still moving.
Awareness that Prisca would eventually have to move with it.
Even if Prisca didn’t want to.
Even if Prisca didn’t know how.
Priscas eyes stayed open for a time before Prisca whispered into the darkness:
"I don’t know who I am anymore."
For the first time since the accident—
Prisca didn’t wait for an answer.
- Writer
