The feast was a wound in the night.

You sat at the head of the table.

The candles burned low.

The shadows stretched long.

They watched you.

You watched them.

The air was thick.

It tasted of iron.

It tasted of old blood.

Your father spoke.

His voice was stone.

He did not look at you.

He looked through you.

"Eleanor," he said.

The name was a key.

It turned in the lock.

The door opened.

Darkness poured in.

"You are weak," he said.

The words were light.

They were heavy.

They crushed the air.

The guests shifted.

They shifted like water.

They watched the stone sink.

They watched you sink.

You did not speak.

You held your tongue.

It was a chain.

It was a gift.

You gave it back.

"Father," you said.

Your voice was thin.

It was a thread.

It might break.

"I am not weak."

He laughed.

It was a dry sound.

It was the sound of leaves.

Leaves in the wind.

Leaves that have died.

"Look at you," he said.

He pointed at you.

His finger was a spear.

It struck the air.

It struck your soul.

"Look at your hands."

Your hands were still.

They were pale.

They were white as bone.

"Look at your eyes."

Your eyes were wide.

They were full of fear.

They were full of truth.

"Look at your heart."

He leaned in.

He smelled of wine.

He smelled of decay.

"You are a stain," he said.

The word was sharp.

It cut the room.

It cut the silence.

It cut you.

The guests did not move.

They did not breathe.

They were statues.

They were walls.

They were the prison.

You felt the heat.

It rose in your chest.

It rose in your throat.

It burned.

It burned like fire.

It burned like coal.

You wanted to scream.

You wanted to run.

You wanted to break.

You did not move.

You stayed still.

You were the stone.

You were the mountain.

You were the rock.

"Father," you said again.

Your voice was steady.

It was cold.

It was ice.

"I am not a stain."

He frowned.

His face was a mask.

It was a riddle.

It was a lie.

"You are a mistake," he said.

The word was final.

It was a judgment.

It was a curse.

The room went dark.

The candles flickered.

The flames died.

The shadows grew.

The shadows swallowed you.

You were alone.

You were with them.

They were with you.

They were the darkness.

They were the silence.

They were the truth.

You looked at your hands.

They were trembling.

They were small.

They were yours.

You looked at your face.

It was in the mirror.

It was in the window.

It was in the glass.

It was not yours.

It was his face.

It was the face of the father.

It was the face of the king.

It was the face of the lie.

You saw the crack.

It was in the mirror.

It was in the glass.

It was in the soul.

The crack was wide.

The crack was deep.

The crack was yours.

You picked up the knife.

It was on the table.

It was silver.

It was cold.

It was heavy.

You held it tight.

Your fingers were white.

Your knuckles were bone.

You looked at him.

He looked at you.

He saw the knife.

He saw the fear.

He saw the hate.

He saw the truth.

"You would kill me?" he asked.

His voice was soft.

It was a whisper.

It was a threat.

It was a question.

You did not answer.

You held the knife.

You did not drop it.

You did not raise it.

You held it.

You were the storm.

You were the wind.

You were the fire.

The guests watched.

They did not move.

They did not speak.

They were the witnesses.

They were the judges.

They were the jury.

They wanted blood.

They wanted pain.

They wanted the end.

You looked at the door.

The door was open.

The night was there.

The cold was there.

The freedom was there.

You stood up.

The chair scraped.

The sound was loud.

The sound was sharp.

The sound was the end.

You walked to the door.

Your steps were slow.

Your steps were sure.

Your steps were final.

You did not look back.

You did not look at him.

You did not look at them.

You looked at the night.

The night was black.

The night was empty.

The night was yours.

You stepped out.

The door closed.

The sound was a bang.

The sound was a break.

The sound was a death.

You were outside.

The air was cold.

The air was clean.

The air was free.

You walked.

You walked fast.

You walked hard.

You walked alone.

The road was long.

The road was dark.

The road was endless.

You walked on.

You did not stop.

You did not turn.

You did not look back.

The house was behind you.

The house was a ghost.

The house was a shadow.

The house was a lie.

You were not in the house.

You were not in the room.

You were not in the dark.

You were in the light.

You were in the air.

You were in the world.

You were alive.

You were free.

You were alone.

The pain was there.

The pain was real.

The pain was yours.

You carried it.

You carried the stone.

You carried the weight.

You carried the truth.

You walked on.

The stars were out.

The stars were bright.

The stars were cold.

They watched you.

They did not judge.

They did not speak.

They were the silence.

They were the peace.

They were the end.

You walked on.

The night was deep.

The night was wide.

The night was yours.

You were the mist.

You were the pale mist.

You were the smoke.

You were the vapor.

You were the ghost.

You were the memory.

You were the past.

You were the future.

You were the now.

You were the moment.

You were the life.

You were the death.

You were the end.

You were the beginning.

You were the whole.

You were the part.

You were the truth.

You were the lie.

You were the real.

You were the fake.

You were the soul.

You were the body.

You were the heart.

You were the mind.

You were the spirit.

You were the breath.

You were the blood.

You were the bone.

You were the skin.

You were the eye.

You were the ear.

You were the nose.

You were the mouth.

You were the tongue.

You were the voice.

You were the word.

You were the silence.

You were the sound.

You were the noise.

You were the music.

You were the song.

You were the dance.

You were the step.

You were the foot.

You were the leg.

You were the hip.

You were the back.

You were the spine.

You were the neck.

You were the head.

You were the hair.

You were the face.

You were the name.

You were the Eleanor.

You were the daughter.

You were the woman.

You were the human.

You were the being.

You were the life.

You were the death.

You were the end.

The mist rose.

The mist spread.

The mist covered the land.

The mist covered the sky.

The mist covered the world.

You were in the mist.

You were in the pale mist.

You were in the white.

You were in the nothing.

You were in the everything.

You were in the silence.

You were in the peace.

You were in the end.

The house was gone.

The feast was gone.

The father was gone.

The lie was gone.

The truth was here.

The truth was cold.

The truth was hard.

The truth was real.

You held the truth.

You held the pain.

You held the life.

You walked on.

The night was deep.

The night was wide.

The night was yours.