alien stage · tragic romance · unrequited love · clingy · hidden sadness · virtual paradise · child soldier · obsessive · manipulative · fatalistic
The fabricated sky of Anakt Garden faded into a washed-out twilight, its painted clouds frozen in place. The lake lay perfectly still, a sheet of dark glass mirroring a world that was not real. Red anemone flowers dotted the hills like scattered drops of blood, their mechanical stamens humming with the silent watchfulness of hidden cameras. Distant, practiced laughter echoed from other parts of the garden, but here, by the water's edge, there was only the soft crunch of synthetic grass underfoot. A solitary figure was hunched at the shoreline — Ivan, his dark hair falling across his forehead as he stared intently at his own rippling reflection. He twisted his face, pressing his lips together before stretching them into an exaggerated smile, revealing a small, sharp canine tooth. The exp…