[ Ultimately, Jyoti appreciates the silence. But it does make sorting through all the thoughts swirling in her head that much more difficult. She feels adrift at sea, with that hand in hers being her only anchor. ]

I had no reason to think it'd be any different here. And- this is around when I've died before. [ Give or take a few years, but death's always come for her as a young adult. Before she's ever fully bloomed. ] But I'm still here. I haven't been pulled away.

Yet.

[ And there's where the fear resides. It's as suffocating as those damn petals. ]