Tick... Tick... Tick... Eli had never experienced such a strange stillness. Life had always demanded his attention, leaving no room for rest or reflection. Yet here, in the capital, time loomed endlessly, and with it came an unsettling sense of emptiness. He closed his eyes, searching for an escape from the unease that gnawed at him. Silence. “All you had to do was smile!” A voice erupted, harsh and accusatory. A blurry face stared back at him, the anguish in its eyes cutting deep. “Honestly! We could drop you!” The words drilled into him, a piercing reminder of his perceived failures. Eli's heart raced, drowning in a tide of tears. Could he even call himself Elysian? “You're a failure!” No—he wasn’t Elysian. That name felt foreign, a weight he could not bear. He was just Eli, longing for a flicker of confidence. Tears started to dampen the bedsheet. What was genuine, and what was not? Are you okay?
poor eli
