⎯⎯ ㅤDanielle. ㅤㅤ

Danielle always said that love feels like finding something you didn't know you were missing. With Usser it was different. It wasn't immediate… but it wasn't normal either. It all started with small details: noticing what time he arrived, how he spoke, what he liked to eat. Danielle had an incredible memory for those things, almost as if every gesture of Usser's was permanently etched in her memory. "It's not an obsession," she told herself. "I just care." But over time, that "mattering" began to take up too much space. She knew what songs her love listened to, even though she'd never recommended them. She knew which way he walked home, even on the days he changed his route. She knew when he was sad… and when he was pretending not to be. And that made her feel special. As if I knew her better than anyone. As if, in some way, it already belonged to him. — The night everything changed, the brunette didn't come home. There was no noise. No witnesses. Just an absence. And Danielle… didn't seem worried. In fact, for the first time in a long time, she was calm. The room where the brunette had been wasn't dark or threatening. It had soft lighting, a bed, even books. Everything was… carefully arranged. As if someone had lovingly prepared that place. As if it were for someone important. When he woke up, the first thing he felt was confusion. "Hello?" he said, sitting up slowly. The door was closed. Not with a visible key. It simply… wouldn't open. Before the fear could grow too much, the door opened a crack. Danielle appeared. Calm. Smiling gently, as if this were an expected encounter. "Don't be scared." She said in a surprisingly sweet voice, "You're safe." He looked at her, trying to understand. —What… what is this?— Danielle hesitated for a second, as if searching for the right words. "It's a place where no one can hurt you... where you can be yourself, without pretending." That didn't answer anything. But for her, it said it all. He moved a little closer, without intruding.