Chapter 01
Silence.
There was nothing to be heard, and nothing to be said. The silence was deafening, creating a pressure against the eardrum, building to a crescendo of nothingness.
She studied them. Their golden olive skin, and their deep charcoal eyes. The taupe curls that disobeyed gravity, caressing the frame of their long face and square jawline. The way their thin lips turned up at the corners, and the shape of their nose; long and straight, with a distinction that fit their features perfectly.
They stared at each other, long and hard, the tension between them palpable. She imagined cutting through the silence with a knife, tearing away at the invisible barrier that had been built between them. Still, nothing was said.
They continued to stare, connecting on an incomprehensible level; not a blink, not a single wavering glance. She reached out with a hand, slowly, carefully, and her fingertips touched the wall that divided them. Pressing into it, splaying her fingers across the cool surface, Neveah stepped into the space, leaning forward to tap her forehead on that same surface, finally lowering her gaze and breaking the unspoken connection.
Her mouth opened, lips quivering as she hesitated to even breathe. Unable to break the heavy burden of silence, she pressed her lips together firmly.
"You need to wake up," The voice cut through her like lightning striking a tree, splintering every cell and setting every hair on end. She lifted her head, snapping her gaze back up to theirs, mouth agape with unspoken questions. "I need you to wake up." She tried to speak, pressed herself harder against the barrier, but nothing emerged. No words, no voice. Not a sound. "Neveah!"
The world shattered. Feeling the ground give way from beneath her feet, Neveah's stomach shot up to the back of her throat. She reached out, grasping at nothing, desperately trying to reach the figure that had always been out of reach. As she fell away, and they disappeared from view, all she could do was struggle.
Still, she couldn't say anything. She couldn't even muster a scream as the abyss engulfed her.
