She was sitting in the corner, her body so thin it looked like it might collapse under its own weight. Her hair hung in thick, tangled strands around her face, and her arms wrapped around her knees like she was trying to disappear inside herself.
When the light hit her eyes, she cried out and raised her hands, shielding her face in terror. “It’s okay,” Daniel said softly, kneeling down. His voice trembled despite his training. “You’re safe now.”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t speak at all. The paramedics arrived minutes later, and even they froze when they saw her.
One of them, a woman named Claire, knelt beside her and whispered, “Oh my God… how long has she been here?” No one knew.
When they carried her outside, she screamed—not in relief, but in fear. She clawed at the doorframe, her voice cracking as she begged, “No outside… no outside… please…”
She didn’t know what freedom was.
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