UNNAMED [Chapter 8- “This is What Peace Feels Like”]

⚠️ Content Warning: This chapter contains themes of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 8- “This is What Peace Feels Like”

They said peace is the absence of pain.

But what if peace is simply when the pain stops mattering?

What if peace is just… silence?

“You ask who I am?” she sighed.

“Hmm… mmh… hmm… who I am —

Someone you left behind a long time ago,

Alone, chasing after you in the garden, paper violets trembling in her hand.

Does that ring a bell?”

My heart went numb. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you cruel bitch. Don’t act innocent. You know exactly what I mean, don’t you, Deathmoth?”

She whispered in my ear, her siren eyes piercing through me.

“Deathmoth… are you that woman — ” I asked, my body still shaking.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.

Hee-hee-hmm… haaa… haaa…”

“Why are you ridiculing me? Just tell me — exactly who are you?”

“Who is who? I’m a human standing in front of you, isn’t that enough for you?” she sighed.

“What is your name?”

My nerves began to fray. The scent in the air toyed with my senses. Her words were becoming harder and harder to understand.

“Why are you so stuck on my identity?

Is it *me* you want to know about,

or do you want to know *how you’re connected to me*, my girly?” she asked playfully.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand you.”

“Huh, that’s odd —

You were the one who used to understand without any words.

Hmm… mmm… ahh.

Or maybe not,” she said with a crooked smile.

“What do you want from me?”

My eyes felt wet.

“Want from you??”

Her giggle danced on the edge of madness —

light as windchimes, cold as knives.

Things began to darken and blur.

She said something,

but I couldn’t catch it all.

“Hmhmhm… ahaha~ oh, you’re fun to break…

You’ll… pay… for… what… you… have… done… to… me…”

Thud..

My body hit the cold floor.

I shivered. My mind was hazy.

My soul shaken by what had just happened —

Her words. Her voice.

The stench in the air —

Blood. Chemicals. Hate.

She despised me, that much was clear.

But why?

Do I know her?

How did she know about the paper violets?

Why did she call me Deathmoth? What does she have to do with me? Why won’t she leave me alone? Why is she making my life more miserable?why?why??WH —

My body begged for rest.

And then —

Darkness.

When I came to, the room felt familiar.

My head: fogged and heavy.

As the clouds in my mind slowly cleared, I realized —

The tiles… were mine. My walls. My ceiling. This was my room.

I was on the floor of my room.

My clothes: ragged.

I reeked of blood.

My face — smeared with blood and tears.

Tears wouldn’t stop.

They carved paths down my cheeks,

washing blood into skin.

I sat there —

cold, empty.

Silence, deep as bone.

My spirit was exhausted — worn down by everything around me.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I mumbled

“I’m tired. I want to get away from everything. I just want peace — is that too much to ask for?” I screamed.

My trembling voice grew from a whisper to a rage that echoed through the rooms, my body shaking from anger or a desperate need for help I couldn’t tell.

“Come closer, darling. Only I can bring you peace.” The blades in my room hummed a lullaby to me.

I followed her voice, casting my blade across my bare skin,

One. My skin prickled.

Two. It was sharp.

Three. The pain whispered.

Five. It hurts.

Ten. My thoughts scattered.

Seventeen… I didn’t feel a thing.

Then I lost the count. My eyes fixated on the scarlet flow tracing lines along my skin, I dropped the blade on the floor.

My world stopped.

There was no one.

No noise.

The air was still.

“I used to think peace would feel like lavender fields, or warm hands, or sleep.

But maybe… maybe this is all it ever was.”

“Maybe this is what peace really feels like —

not soft or warm —

just… silence.”

— to be continued…

[ Writer’s note:

If the above chapter resembles you, try to talk with someone close to you or consider reaching out to a therapist or helpline.

You all are strong and deserves to be happy. LOVE YOU ALL! ]

Thank you for reading ! Feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, or questions. I’d love to hear your perspective on the story so far.

connect with me at [email protected]

Genre : Dark Psychological Thriller, Dark Psychological Horror, Surrealist Gothic, Dark Fantasy, Literary Fiction