Chapter 1 — The House Without Warmth
Solane Clementine learned at a very young age that a house could be full of people and still feel completely empty.
Every morning, she woke before everyone else.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she had learned that sleeping too long meant punishment.
At five in the morning, the house was still dark. Solane quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to make the wooden floor creak. She folded her thin blanket neatly and placed it at the edge of her mattress.
Then she went downstairs.
The kitchen was cold.
She tied her hair into a loose ponytail and began preparing breakfast for her family.
Rice.
Eggs.
Coffee.
Everything had to be perfect.
She had learned that perfection was safer than making mistakes.
As she placed the plates on the table, footsteps suddenly came from the hallway.
Solane froze.
Her father appeared first.
He looked at the table, then at her.
“Is this all?”
Solane lowered her eyes.
“I can make more.”
“You should have known.”
“Yes, Father.”
He walked away without another word.
Solane immediately returned to the kitchen.
Her hands trembled as she prepared another plate.
She hated that they trembled.
She hated that she was afraid.
Most of all, she hated herself for being afraid.
But what could she do?
She was only seventeen.
And in that house, being seventeen didn't mean she had a voice.
It only meant she was old enough to be blamed for everything.
---
By seven o'clock, everyone was gone.
Her father left for work.
Her mother left without saying goodbye.
Her siblings went to school.
Solane remained behind.
Alone.
She washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, swept the floor, and finished the chores before getting ready for school.
She stood in front of the cracked mirror in her bedroom.
There were dark circles beneath her eyes.
She smiled at her reflection.
It looked fake.
“I'm okay,” she whispered.
She said it every day.
Maybe if she repeated it enough times, she would eventually believe it.
She grabbed her school bag and walked downstairs.
Before leaving, she noticed something strange.
The front door was unlocked.
That was unusual.
Her family always locked it.
Solane frowned.
She stepped closer.
On the small table beside the door was an envelope.
Her name was written across it.
SOLANE CLEMENTINE.
Her heart suddenly began beating faster.
She picked it up.
There was no sender.
No explanation.
Just her name.
Solane stared at it for several seconds before putting it inside her bag.
She decided not to open it yet.
She had a strange feeling that whatever was inside would change something.
She didn't know how much.
She didn't know that this ordinary morning would be the last time she would ever see her family.
---
When Solane returned home that afternoon, something was wrong.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
“Mom?”
No answer.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
She walked through the living room.
The television was off.
The kitchen was untouched.
Her mother's cup was still sitting on the table.
Her father's keys were missing.
Solane checked upstairs.
Empty.
Every bedroom was empty.
Her siblings' clothes were still there.
Their school bags were still there.
But they were gone.
All of them.
Solane stood in the middle of the hallway, unable to understand what she was seeing.
“Where did everyone go?”
She ran from room to room.
Nothing.
No note.
No message.
No explanation.
Then she remembered the envelope.
With shaking hands, Solane pulled it from her bag.
She opened it.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence was written on it.
“You wanted to be free. Now you are.”
Solane's hands went cold.
She read the sentence again.
And again.
Then she looked around the empty house.
For the first time in her life, nobody was shouting at her.
Nobody was ordering her around.
Nobody was telling her what to do.
She was alone.
Completely alone.
And somehow...
That frightened her more than anything.
Because Solane had spent her entire life wishing for freedom.
She just never imagined that freedom would come with losing everyone.
