Sofia

I woke up believing, for a terrifying split second, that I was actually dying.

The sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains felt like a physical assault, stabbing directly into my retinas. My head didn't just hurt; it throbbed with a violent pounding, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to the base of my skull. My mouth tasted like cotton wool soaked in acid, and my stomach churned with a nauseating mixture of emptiness and regret.

I groaned, burying my face into the ...