(Thai Novel in Translation)

Inside the room, the pervasive darkness swallowed everything whole. The air was a knife-edge of cold, a chilling, palpable presence that hinted at death itself closing in. He fought a solitary battle against excruciating physical pain and the consuming fear that gnawed at his empty, shattered soul. The metallic scent of blood was thick and heavy, staining his senses. A weak, creamy moonlight pierced the thin curtains, casting a slow, grotesque silhouette upon the wall, like some unseen terror dancing in silent mockery.

His eyes, blurred with trauma, darted around the oppressive space, paranoid that a malevolent entity still watched from the gloom. Tears of sheer terror streamed down his face, mirroring the cold glint of a discarded, razor-sharp knife resting indifferently on the bedside table.

His pale, trembling hand slowly reached for the weapon. As his grip tightened, the wounds lacing his forearm wept anew; warm blood oozed through his fingers, dripping onto the floor and vanishing into the deep shadows. The gashes on his body were stark, agonizing reminders of the catastrophe that had just passed.

A ragged breath dragged his fading consciousness back. He clung to the knife, desperate for an anchor against the rising tide of madness. A loved, tormented face flashed in his mind’s eye. Guilt, a terrible, visceral thing, tore at his core. Was this the end? Or merely the prelude to an endless suffering?

He let out a loud, wrenching sob. Hallucinations clawed at his sanity. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his head in torment, his entire body shuddering uncontrollably. All hope was lost; he yearned only for his life to cease, for the unending ordeal to finally break.

Then, a figure stepped into the black expanse. A hazy silhouette of a slender woman appeared, her eyes shining like distant stars, framed by a gentle, unwavering smile. Slowly, he lifted his gaze through the curtain of his own tears, watching as she knelt before him. She reached out, her hand settling softly on his broad, shaking shoulder, pulling his convulsing body into a tender, careful embrace.

As the quiet warmth enveloped him, the suffocating chill began to recede. The bloodied blade in his hand felt suddenly common, useless, falling silently beside the bed. The painful memories, too, began to strangely fade, leaving an inexplicable void.

“None of this was your fault,” her soft voice whispered close to his ear. “What you have faced was truly devastating. Thank you for enduring and fighting until this very day.”

A heartbroken sob shuddered through his body, shaking the dark room. He realized that the agonizing pain wasn’t caused by the exterior wounds, but by a brutally damaged heart clinging to a traumatic past.

In that single, profound moment of connection—the courage to accept her and step out of the dark—he found that his soul had finally been freed from the terrifying shackles of fear.