Total darkness.I sat on the cold cement floor, hugging my knees, crying in silence. But the longer I was here, the more familiar this darkness felt.No. Not this basement, but the darkness, the musty smell, and the solitude.The memory came.I was little. Maybe five or six years old. I was crying because mother hadn't come home. Aunt came, pulled me to the back storage room, the door was closed, and it was dark."Stop crying, or you'll stay here forever."I cried harder. The door didn't open.For hours. Maybe all day. I didn't know. All I remembered was the darkness, rats scurrying around. I screamed but no one came.Elena sometimes joined in locking me up. She laughed behind the door."Stay in there, fatty. Don't come out."I hated them, but more than that, I was terrified.Terrified of the dark.Terrified of confined spaces.Terrified of being alone.And now, in this basement, that fear was back. Not just fear, but trauma. An old wound ripped open again.I couldn't breathe.My ches
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