Chapter 33

Three weeks later…

This depression, Hidayah thought. It was as if there was a force pressing down on her. It was yet another day of drowning, the cold wash only she could feel. She has stopped asking “why me.”

In this depression she’s not seeking a happier version of herself. She couldn’t recall the last time she reached out for that happy adult-self she once was, the adult who loved sunshine and rain all the same.

She started to see darkness around the lights instead of the other way around, and soon there were no more colors in her world. They say there was a rope ladder out of depression, one you can use to climb out of it, the problem was that she just couldn’t find the will to reach out for the first rung, let alone try.

“Ya Hidayah,” Nafisa called out. “I made milkshakes today. You have to try it.” She cheered, passing a cup filled with vanilla mixed with chocolate milkshake.

Hidaya