No One Watching: Kiyomi (The Guardian – episode 6)
Alone. At last. Walls closed, shoes off, air still.
Relieved— but angry.
Angry that it took this much just to stand still. Angry that the world outside doesn’t pause unless you break in front of it.
I hate necessity. The rituals of errands, of smiling like I’m still part of it. Of pretending the air isn’t poisoned with something I can’t name but feel each time I cross a street.
I want to breathe before I do. Before I answer. Before I’m pressed into shape.
Sometimes I dream of boarding a train that isn’t a commute, isn’t a schedule. Just a one-off bow from this world to me— no destination. Just quiet, forward motion.
Just this once. Let me leave before I have to become what they expect again.
—————
And outside— somewhere past the curtains, past the hum of heating pipes and hallway light— a shadow did not move.
But the air shifted. The sound of the distant tracks was not passing.
It was watching.