CHAPTER EIGHT
527 Words
It started small.
So small that no one noticed.
Not even me.
A headache that wouldnât go away.
A little dizziness when I stood up too fast.
A constant tiredness that sleep couldnât fix.
I told myself it was nothing.
Just stress.
Just⊠everything.
And life didnât stop.
Ethan still laughed.
Lily still smiled.
The world still moved on like I wasnât slowly falling behind.
One morning, I woke up feeling heavier than usual.
Not physically.
Just⊠empty.
Like something inside me had quietly given up.
I stared at the ceiling for a long time before forcing myself out of bed.
School.
I had to go.
I always went.
By the time I reached class, my head was spinning.
The voices around me felt distant, like I was underwater.
âBlue?â
I blinked.
My teacher was looking at me.
âAre you okay?â she asked.
I nodded quickly. âYes.â
A lie.
But an easy one.
She hesitated, then continued the lesson.
No one else asked.
No one else noticed.
And why would they?
I was always quiet.
Always invisible.
It was easy to disappear when no one was really looking.
Days passed.
The headaches got worse.
The dizziness turned into moments where the room tilted slightly, like it couldnât hold me steady anymore.
Sometimes, I skipped lunch.
Not because I wanted to.
But because I didnât feel hungry.
Or maybeâŠ
I just didnât feel anything.
One afternoon, I was walking down the hallway when everything suddenly went dark for a second.
My steps faltered.
My hand shot out to steady myself against the wall.
Voices passed by.
Laughter.
Footsteps.
No one stopped.
No one asked.
I waited until the world settled again before continuing.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like I was learning how to exist all over again.
And thenâ
One dayâ
I didnât make it.
It happened during class.
The teacher was talking.
Students were writing.
Everything was normal.
Until it wasnât.
The pen slipped from my fingers.
My vision blurred.
The room spunâ
And thenâŠ
Nothing.
When I opened my eyes again, everything was too bright.
White walls.
Soft beeping sounds.
A hospital.
I turned my head slightly, wincing at the movement.
A nurse noticed immediately.
âOhâyou're awake,â she said gently.
I didnât respond.
I couldnât.
My throat felt dry.
Heavy.
âHow are you feeling?â she asked.
I stared at the ceiling.
I didnât know how to answer that.
Because how do you explain feeling like youâre slowly disappearing?
Later, the doctor came in.
He spoke to me.
Used words I didnât fully process.
âSevere exhaustionâŠâ
âStress-related complicationsâŠâ
âWe need to run more testsâŠâ
I nodded.
Even though I didnât really understand.
Or maybeâŠ
I just didnât care.
Because deep downâ
I already knew something was wrong.
Not just with my body.
But with everything.
And the scariest part?
No one noticed I was gone.
Not my classmates.
Not the people who saw me every day.
Not even him.
Ethan.
The boy I loved.
The boy who never saw me.
Even as I was slowlyâŠ
Fading away.
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