Unfortunate

“Syli.”

The voice rippled against the dark, soft as a water droplet.

My eyes opened.

Darkness. Nothing but it. Except—

A cherry blossom tree. Alone, standing in the void, its branches whispering with a wind I couldn’t feel.

A step.

I spun around.

And froze.

It was me.

Not a reflection. Not a trick. Me, standing there, eyes hollow, smile too sharp to be mine.

I opened my mouth—nothing came. No sound. No breath.

She stepped forward. Again. And again.

Then her hands shot up, clamping around my throat.

We crashed to the ground, her weight pinning me. Her grip tightened, crushing. My legs kicked uselessly against nothing.

I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t blink. Our eyes locked like mirrors nailed shut.

And then her skin began to peel.

Flakes at first, like ash. Then strips, fading away, falling into the dark. Skin to flesh. Flesh to bone. White teeth grinning through a skull.

But the grip never faltered.

Her bones pressed deeper into my neck, grinding, closing, breaking.

I gasped, but no air came. My chest clawed itself hollow.

I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.