Chapter 2 – The Girl Who Lived. Episode 1 – Waking Up to Absence | by Tredeblez | Nov, 2025

Episode 1 – Waking Up to Absence

The next morning, the world still looked the same.
Birds still sang. The sun still rose. And that made it hurt even more.

I woke up to the sound of my mother’s voice calling me to get ready for school … the same way she always did. Her tone was normal. Casual. Unaware.
For a moment, I almost forgot. My body moved through the motions … folding my bedsheet, brushing my teeth, putting on my uniform. It wasn’t until I reached for my bag that I remembered: she wouldn’t be waiting at the junction.

The uniform felt heavier that morning. The skirt was the same one I wore yesterday … the same one stained with her blood that no amount of washing could really erase. I could still see it, faint but there.

The world had moved on overnight. But I hadn’t.
I kept thinking she might walk through the door, laughing like she always did, asking if I’d done my homework. But the silence that answered was too loud.

When I finally stepped outside, the air smelled the same … dust, diesel, and morning bread from the roadside. But it no longer felt like my world. It was emptier, quieter, crueler.

That’s when I realized: the hardest part about losing someone isn’t the moment they leave. It’s waking up the next day and realizing they’re still gone.

“The hardest part about losing someone isn’t the moment they leave. It’s waking up the next day and realizing they’re still gone.”