Maya stood before the canvas, brush trembling in her hand. The museum was quiet—eerily so—but her heart raced like a storm trapped beneath her ribs. That same sensation from the other day returned, the feeling of being watched. Not by strangers or ghosts of the past… but by someone who knew her.
She turned.
Empty.
Still, something inside her stirred, as though the shadows had whispered her name.
"What are you hiding from, Maya?" she asked herself quietly, then dipped the brush into the deep crimson paint.
Each stroke bled emotion. Not just sorrow or pain—but fire. Growth. Something was changing inside her, and it scared her. For the first time, she wasn't painting what she felt—she was painting what she remembered. The day her world split in two. The rain. The scream. The silence that followed.
"You okay?" came a soft voice.
It was Elijah. He stood in the doorway, hesitant, like a man unsure if he had the right to step into her world.
Maya blinked, startled. "Yeah… I just—I lost track of time."
He moved closer. "You've been painting for hours. I didn't want to interrupt… but your hands are shaking."
She looked down. Crimson paint streaked her fingers like dried blood. "I guess I got lost in it."
"You don't have to do this alone," Elijah said gently, taking a seat beside her. "Whatever you're chasing through these colors… you can let someone in."
Maya let out a shaky breath, leaning back. "I'm not sure how."
"Then let me show you."
Their eyes met. Something passed between them—something fragile yet undeniable. Elijah reached for her paint-smeared hand, not caring about the mess.
"I want to know everything," he whispered.
Maya didn't speak. Instead, she pulled a crumpled photograph from her pocket—one she hadn't looked at in years. It showed a young girl in a red coat standing beside a man whose face had been torn out.
"This is where it all started," she murmured.
And so, the night deepened around them as she began to tell her story—not in color, but in words. The truth, raw and terrifying, finally began to crawl out of the shadows.
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