Trapped

[PART 1]

She was still working on a chilly Wednesday evening when everyone else in the office had left. She heard nothing but the sound of her keyboard racing its way to the finishing line. She needed to get her work over and done with so she too, could go home. It felt endless; like her cup was constantly overflowing. It suffocated her sometimes, especially when she knew that her bills piled up like old newspaper.

Elora Avyanna Harlynn, fondly known as Anna, lived from hand to mouth. It was a real struggle to go by each month especially when she had to skimp on her meals. She was often tormented by an illusion that she might one day suffocate in her own thoughts.

She wasn’t particularly a bright kid. She was never one to top her class but she never finished last either. Growing up, she was made to believe that coming out on top ought to be her only goal in life. Self worth, independence, sex education, mental health and leadership were never taught in school and hence never saw the light of prioritization.

Now, looking back at how much she’d struggle to be where she is, she wished she had it differently.

Anna comes from a troubled family. Her parents got married and almost immediately gave birth to a baby boy (Anna’s older brother), Ethan Avyaan Harlynn. Her parents were always bickering; her father was a domestic abuser — she found it difficult to grasp the infamous title that her relatives branded her father but it also left her with no choice. As children, she and her brother took turns shielding their mother from all the merciless beating.

She’s been struggling with her thoughts since she was a little girl. No one knew about it; no one cared. Her brother came to her aid when she fell off a bicycle one day but no one cared that she thought of taking her life even at the tender age of twelve.

It isn’t a secret that many of us constantly struggle with the demons within. The demons in our head; the demons under our bed and yet no one seemed to understand that mental health is just as important as physical health.

Anna turned 21 yesterday and she couldn’t have felt more alone in her life. She spent her birthday alone and dejected. She lost her mother to a severe case of brain damage while her father is spending the remaining years of his pathetic life in a prison cell for the murder of his wife. After the demise of their mother, her brother, Ethan, left without a trace.

She felt like the world was consuming her and every minute she spent awake, she couldn’t breathe. Her thoughts always lead to her cold body laying motionless in her one bedroom apartment. She always knew she needed help but she lived in a society where mental health isn’t taken seriously; not to mention the fact that one session with a professional therapist is exorbitantly priced and inaccessible.

Her thoughts always got the best of her. She knew she couldn’t conclude her pile of work so she turned off her laptop and made her way to the closest convenience store to pick up some food for her cat. She then witnessed a dejavu moment when she came across a couple; the male spat on his girlfriend and hit her head on a wall. She shivered but her instincts quickly kicked in. She ran towards the woman and stood right in front of her — in hopes of shielding that unknown woman from the wrath of her boyfriend.

Anna looked the male in his eyes and started shivering even more; his eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he was going to stab her…

[to be continued]