Chapter 15 - Arvia’s World Crumbling
"N-no..."
There are moments in human life when buried memories—ones they believed no longer mattered—surge back like thunder, sudden and overwhelming, like dreams glimpsed just before vanishing forever.
In that moment, fragments of her childhood resurfaced—the face of the woman who was her mother—flashing past faster than her mind could grasp.
From the guilt of being the reason Satteus had come between her and the umbrella, getting hit and bloodied, to the panic of rushing him to the hospital, the sadness and pain of seeing him suffer, and finally the car accident that layered even more intense emotions of regret and anguish—everything crashed down on her.
Her mind couldn’t take it.
It shut off—to protect itself.
Emotional shock doesn’t always mean losing consciousness. Sometimes, it freezes every thought.
Her mind became a hollow shell, a trance-like emptiness where nothing stirred except the echo of her father’s words.
"What...?" Arvia’s lips moved. She needed an answer—desperately—to anchor herself before her mind collapsed completely.
Though silent, she clung to the edge of consciousness, hands gripping the bed behind her, breathing heavily, trying to stay calm as she stared at her father lying on the floor.
"I said, it was him who had forced his parents to join us on that trip!" the man yelled. His voice trembled, as if recalling something distorted, something his mind had never fully accepted.