~Elsie's POV
The next spoon did not make it to my mouth.
My fingers loosened without warning, and the spoon slipped from my hand, clattering softly against the bowl before falling onto the table.
The sound felt louder than it should have.
I froze.
My breath caught somewhere in my chest, and slowly, like I did not even realize I was doing it, my gaze lifted.
Everything around me seemed to fade for a second.
The room, the air, even my own thoughts felt distant, like I was no longer fully present in my own body.
"What…?" I whispered, but even that sounded strange to my ears, like the voice didn't belong to me anymore.
That night came rushing back, not clearly, not in a way I could hold onto, but in broken pieces that didn't fully connect. I remembered the room, the way my head had felt heavy, the dizziness that made everything spin, and the unsettling feeling of not being in control of myself.
