18: A strange change

CORA

The two days of a hunger strike that I’d been punished with seemed to have gone by very quickly for me unlike the last where the days dragged out painfully. After my first experience, I’d grown a much tougher skin to being starved and dehydrated.

Still, my appearance betrayed me and my skin paled terribly while my lips cracked and got scarred from the constant tears.

Despite my resilience, the toughest parts of both days were the moments when I’d been dragged through the hallways just to kneel and watch Kai and Leila enjoy various delicacies that’d made my throat dry from how much I’d salivated.

However, after the second meal, I quickly found a trick where I’d completely zone out of their conversations such that I wouldn’t have to be infuriated by their crude remarks toward me. I simply tuned into the memories of my family and loved ones that’d kept me going, and after repeating that at other meals, I realized that I’d found a happy place and an escape despite all the chaos.

It’d