Day 22: Condemnation

Sally woke up on the floor.
She got up with her body aching and went to shower in silence.

As the water ran, her mother’s words replayed in her mind over and over again.
The night before…

Her mother had greeted her with a hypocritical smile.

“So you came back,” she said, opening the door.

Once inside, Sally looked at the mess in the apartment. Nothing had changed.

“Looks like things are still the same around here…” she murmured.

Her mother’s smile vanished instantly.

“Don’t start. You already know that if you don’t like it, you can leave.
But you also know what the consequences are.”

Sally didn’t reply. It wasn’t worth it.

She went to her old room.

The moment she opened the door, her chest sank.
The room was empty.

No trace of her things.
Not a single memory.
Only cold floor.

She lay on the ground and hugged herself, trying to ignore the atmosphere.

“Partially everything will go back to normal,” she thought.

She just had to endure.
Avoid her mother.
And wait.

She fell asleep curled up, trying not to feel the cold.

“That damn woman is capable of anything…” she thought.

Doubt began to poison her chest.
What if her plan failed?
What if she lost even more?

Her energy started to flow on its own,
reflecting in every drop of water.
But this time, the marks glowed and stayed on her skin.
She felt the energy burn.

When she arrived at school, she stood in front of the entrance.
She didn’t know if she should go in.

Her hands trembled.

This time Kam wouldn’t be there to walk with her.
And after what happened with her bullies—

She turned around.
She wouldn’t go back.

She spent the morning wandering aimlessly, alone, drowned in her thoughts.

Until a girl handing out flyers recognized her.

“Hi, Sally! Can I take a picture with you?”

Sally gave a small smile.
“Sure. What’s your name?”

“Kiki.”

After taking the photo, Kiki handed her a flyer.
It was for a gaming center.

“Could you tell me where it is?” Sally asked.

“I’ll take you!” Kiki replied cheerfully.

The place was on the third and fourth floor of a building.
They went in together.

As they approached the counter, Kiki called out to the boy working there.

“Josu, look who I found!”

“No idea, Kiki…” he said without looking.
But when he finally saw Sally, he froze.

“I can’t believe you woke up from the coma…”

Sally scratched her head, smiling with a bit of embarrassment.

“Well, I’ll leave you two,” Kiki said. “I’ll finish handing out these flyers and come back to play with you.”

“Don’t take too long,” Josu added.

He looked at Sally.

“Do you want a PC on this floor or on the terrace?”

“On the terrace.”

“Alright, follow me.”

As they went up, several people recognized her.
They gave her greetings, gifts, words of affection.
Sally responded humbly.

The terrace had a warmer, livelier atmosphere.

“This will be your PC,” Josu said. “Don’t worry about paying. For my sister and me, your content always brightened our days. In our worst moments…
So since I can finally thank you, let me support you like you supported us.”

Sally looked away.

“It’s good to know.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Josu smiled. “I want to play too.”

He left.

Sally looked at the sky.
Then she opened her stream.

“I revived, guys,” she said with a small smile. “Let’s start playing.”

The chat exploded.
Messages of excitement, disbelief, joy.

Once she entered the game, something inside her loosened.
She felt free.

Her followers, the game… they were her refuge.

But unfortunately, that sweet yet fleeting moment of tranquility she felt while playing
would come to an end.

She knew it.

She felt guilty.
But if she could have even one moment of relief…

She would take it.
No matter the pain and emptiness that would follow after.