Aiko walked down the narrow, winding path that led to her usual spot—a small clearing hidden deep within the trees, far away from prying eyes. The early morning sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light on the ground. She checked her phone, nervous, her fingers trembling slightly. The meeting with her dealer was always tense, a necessary evil in her twisted reality.

"You got the stuff?" she asked quietly, her voice betraying her desperation as a figure emerged from the shadows.

He nodded, handing her a small, discreet package. "You know the drill, Aiko. Be careful with this. It's strong."

She didn't bother with pleasantries, slipping the package into her bag and handing over the cash. With a curt nod, she turned on her heel and headed back down the path, her heart pounding. The promise of another "trip" beckoned, a chance to escape into a world where she could once again feel her mother's warmth and pretend that everything was okay.

Returning to her small, cluttered apartment, Aiko shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment as she caught her breath. The place was a mess—empty bottles, discarded clothes, and remnants of her last binge littered the floor. But she didn't care. Not about the mess, not about herself. All that mattered was the escape.

Before she let herself sink into oblivion, she sent a quick text, her fingers shaking as she typed out the lie. "Hey, I'm going to visit my parents for a week. Won't be reachable. Talk soon."

She hit send and threw the phone onto her bed, where it landed with a soft thud. It was time. She carefully laid out the drugs on her small coffee table, her hands steady now with practiced ease. A little Alpha-PVP, a mix of other substances, and a bottle of cheap vodka to wash it all down. This was her ritual, her twisted homage to the life she once had, the life that had been ripped away.

As the drugs took hold, the room around her began to warp and twist, the harsh reality melting away into a dreamscape of memories. She saw her mother's face, smiling, laughing, as if she were still alive, as if everything was still okay. The warmth of those memories wrapped around her like a comforting blanket, easing the pain in her chest.

But today... today felt different.

Time had lost all meaning as Aiko lay on the floor, her body heavy, her mind drifting in and out of consciousness. The memories flooded her—her mother's voice, the feeling of being held, the sound of laughter. But something was wrong. A cold dread crept over her as she realized her breaths were shallow, her heart pounding erratically in her chest. The edges of her vision blurred, dark spots dancing in front of her eyes.

Panic gripped her as the realization hit—she had overdosed. She was dying. Desperation clawed at her as she fumbled for her phone, her fingers barely responsive. She managed to unlock it, her vision narrowing to a tunnel as she typed out a single message:

"Help me."

She attached her GPS location and hit send before the phone slipped from her grasp, clattering to the floor. The coldness seeped into her bones as she lay there, weak and fading, her vision dimming to almost nothing. In her last moments of consciousness, Aiko began to sing, her voice soft and wavering, clinging to the one thing that had always brought her comfort.

"You're close, but not really Distance, like space, expands into itself People are all planets, and to them, you're like a star I'm like everyone else, but there's no life on me, the Sun doesn't shine for me Cold lasts for many years, all feelings are once again carried away by the wind Only vibrations reach, screams — my voices A hundred light-years, and I will reach you But I will no longer exist Everything I wanted to say, I won't be able to I know you're not interested"

The world around her was slipping away, a dark void closing in. But then, through the haze, she heard it—the sound of the door to her apartment opening, the creak of the hinges almost deafening in the silence. Her heart leapt in her chest, or maybe it was just another weak flutter as life drained out of her. She forced her eyes open, seeing only a blur, a shadowy figure moving toward her.