They say when life gives you lemons, you must make lemonade. But life had never given Nivana Valis lemons—only shadows, pain, and the cold comfort of Death, her oldest companion. Death, at least, was kind. A soft guiding light. But the sharp pain now ripping through her chest was anything but kind.

A strong, sharp pain shot through her chest. Her hands instinctively flew to the place. Her fingers clutched her shirt as she tried to hold herself together. She started to tear up, the pain in her chest made it impossible to breathe. Every inhale felt like needles were poking her from the inside out. She leaned against the doorframe, scared her knees would give up.

Nivana didn't feel sick when she left, no, she was completely fine this morning. But during her first lecture of the day, she suddenly fell ill. Her head was hurting, her chest was burning, and every heartbeat was too much.

Yes, it definitely felt like she was dying.

After sitting in class for only fifteen minutes, she packed her stuff and left. Going home with public transportation and such a painful sensation wasn't exactly easy.

But she was home, despite it all, she made it home. She was safe. All she had to do was make it to bed, one step at a time. The pain in her chest didn't ease. If anything, it grew sharper, like sharp metal claws trying to tear her open.

She fell into her mattress, curled into a little ball, arms wrapped around her knees. It wasn't just physical – this felt deeper, hollow, unexplainable.

Her breath came in shallow gasps like she was drowning without water. The harder she fought it, the deeper the pain cut.

She closed her eyes. Afraid to fall asleep, she bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Focusing on her breath, soft inhales, trying to calm herself down. She wanted the pain to end; strong exhales, but no matter what, she would survive.

Inhale... exhale...

Her lips parted as she tried to match the rise and fall of her chest to the rhythm she counted in her mind. The ache lingered, buried deep beneath her ribs, quieter now—less like knives, more like a distant storm.

Her muscles relaxed one by one. The overwhelming urge to claw her chest disappeared, leaving nothing but tears in her eyes.

But as she finally calmed down,

She felt it.

The pain was gone, but something worse replaced it—a faint pull deep in her chest, like a thread slowly coming undone. She froze. Her breath hitched as she tried to comprehend it. It wasn't physical, not like before. It was... like an emotion.

Nirvana didn't know what was happening, nor could she explain it. But she knew, whatever was slipping away, it was important to her.

She could feel it.

She closed her eyes to concentrate, attempting to grasp it mentally, to put it back into place. She wasn't ready to let go, whatever it was, she still needed it.

Grabbing at something invisible was impossible—like clutching at air, no matter how badly you wanted to hold on. And yet, she could feel how it slipped away, dragged by some unseen force

Her mind was chaos, a storm of desperation and instinct. The pull grew larger, like a string tethered to her heart was being dragged taut.

"No... please..." she whispered, her voice barely audible, the force within her surged with the defiance she couldn't put into words.

She pressed her hands to her chest as if she could hold the sensation.

"Don't leave... don't take it away..." She cried out.

A faint voice echoed in her mind, low and smooth but laced with a quiet authority that made her shiver.

"Let go. It's time to let go."

Her head shot up, silver-grey eyes darting through the empty room. No one was there—but she could feel it. A shadow, heavy and unseen, just beyond her reach.

"Who... who's there?" her voice wavered, but her defiance flickered like a fragile flame.

The room grew colder, the chill biting her skin and sinking into her bones. The air felt alive, thick with an oppressive energy that made each breath feel heavy.

Her breath came in short, trembling puffs, like whispers vanishing into the air. The weight pressing on her chest was invisible, but crushing all the same.

"Let her go," the voice repeated, softer and gentler, almost filled with sorrow. But still carrying the same undeniable weight of authority.

Nivana's trembling fingers clutched at the sheets, her knuckles turning white. "No," she whispered, the word more breath than sound. Then louder, "No!"

She felt the thread inside her snap tighter, as though whatever was tethered to her soul was being reeled in by a force she couldn't see. Her chest burned, her heart pounding wildly, like a bird slamming against the bars of a cage.

And then...

It stopped.

At this moment, in the absence of the pull, Nivana felt empty, hollow, and exhausted.

She lay in silence, her breaths shallow and uneven. She stared at the beige ceiling, her eyes wide and unfocused.

For a moment, she wondered if she'd imagined it all. The pull. The voice. The suffocating chill that had filled the air. Maybe it was just exhaustion. Maybe it was nothing.

But deep down, in the back of her mind, she knew better.

Her hands hovered over her chest, trembling as though expecting the pain to return any moment. But there was nothing – no pull. No ache. Just the vast, aching void that filled her ribs.

The silence in the room was deafening, the air unnaturally still. Too still.

Then she felt it.

A faint sensation, like a shadow brushing against her skin. Cold and heavy. Her breath hitched as she turned her head, her silver-grey eyes scanning the dim room.

She wasn't alone.

Though the room appeared empty, she could feel something watching her—something quiet, ancient, and patient.

The air grew colder. Her breath came in short, visible puffs, ghostly white in the dim light.

And then she saw it.

In the far corner of her room, the shadows deepened unnaturally, pooling together in a way that made her skin crawl. For a heartbeat, the darkness flickered, and she thought she saw the faint outline of a figure.

It didn't move. It didn't speak. But it was there. Waiting.

chapter word count: 1024 (Wattpad) / 1069 (Docs)

Novella word count: 1024 (Wattpad) / 1069 (Docs)