My mother runs to me and throws herself into my arms. She starts sobbing intensively. We cry on each other shoulders without a care in the world. My life broke to pieces just seconds ago. 

Now I will need to cope with what I have.

I look up at my mother's eyes. Noticing they are full of tears, I start to cry heavier.

"Can I make them stop?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"Oh dear..." my mother replies with a heavy sigh.

We quit the sobbing for a moment and enter the home. My father is standing near the wall. I instantly tense, not knowing what will happen next. What will he say will crush me or lighten me up? She quickly looked away to break the cold gaze between them.

"What happened?" he asked.

The question surprised me. Why would he care? When he never cared...

"Vecca experienced the mind intruder for the first time," my mother cries out.

"We will take care of you, Vecca. Teaching you detailed techniques is an obligation," her father said, walking away from the scene.

He always does that, walks away when the things get more intense.

"Come, Vecca. We will smoothen the voice just in a moment," mother said with a pleading look in her swollen eyes.

I come with her and as sit in the living room, the voice reappears.

"Want to get rid of me?" the voice laughs, "Kill yourself, and we will be done for the day."

My eyes open and close as if I want this horror to end already. It does not help and it gets worse.

"Shut up already!" I scream and scare my mother. She backs away from me and throws her hands in the air.

"The voice again?" she asks quietly.

I nod my head and wait. I wait for the voice to speak again, tension raise as I get older.

"Not fancy killing yourself?" the melodic voice asks "Well, there is another way you might like on the other hand."

"Tell me," I ask the voice.

That is my mother turn to scream.

"Do not listen to the voice! It is trying to manipulate you and will get you killed!"

I hear loud chuckling in my head and I brace myself for what I will hear next.

"And I tell you this. You are a monster, not worthy of love. A troubled child with mental illnesses. Do you think you can manage me? I will drive you nuts unless you do as I ask," the voice states itself clearly.

The ball rises in my throat as I listen.

"You need to find the truth and expose it," the voice continues.

My mother cries out again and walks up to me. She puts her petite hands on my shoulders and tries to break me from my trance.

My eyes turn blank in a matter of seconds.

"Vecca, please. Listen to me, breathe in and breath out. Quickly, there is no time left," my mother speaks rushingly.

I start to breathe out of pure anxiety. Breathing and out through my nose the voice finally stops. I wonder how long will it last, hoping for a long time.

I throw myself in my mother's arms and stay silent. We stand like that for what seems like forever. Enjoying the moment of silence. Pure silence I will not ever witness again.

Suddenly, my mother backs away. Her reddish eyes stare at me.

"Mindfulness techniques. You must learn them,"

We come back to the sofa. My mother begins to speak.

"The important thing you must learn is escaping. While you are breathing, imagine yourself in a peaceful, safe place. Place just for you and your thoughts, no one is invited. Do you understand? No one."

I nod my head and listen closely.

"When you are in your safe place, imagine someone close to you being next to you. Try to hear what is he saying. Focus on the tone of his voice. Next, look at your surroundings. Pay close attention to each detail. This is one of the most powerful techniques as it can get you to a mindful state. The mindful state is what the voice fears, there is no explanation why."

We practice the technique for some time after that. The person that I imagine next to me is my boyfriend. I began to feel calm in a matter of minutes. This is interesting, how the voice drifted away by using such a simple technique.

Once we call it quits, I go to my room and throw myself on the bed. The events from today got me exhausted. I glance at the clock, it is half-past midnight. I change into my nightdress and place myself in covers. It is time for my crowded mind to rest.

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The next day starts with a shout. The voice starts its play again. I push my head on the pillow and wait.

"I despise you. Have you ever looked at yourself? You are disgusting," the voice calls out.

I try the technique and it helps. Today is a stressful day, I go to school for the first time... with a mind intruder. If I survive this day, I am a hero.

I gather my belongings and wait for my mother to appear in the hallway. She always drives me to school, and I am grateful for that. I walk up to our car and push the door open. When my mom starts the engine, I instantly look outside the window. I know she will break the silence eventually, she will not handle it. I wonder where this comes from, perhaps someone always made her talk.

Today I will not listen to her, I have my excuse. Putting my headphones on without the care in the world, I close my eyes and embrace the music coming to my ears. Maybe listening to a loud voice will keep the voice away for some time?

Later on, we arrive at school. I walk out of the care and say goodbye to my mother. The hell begins now. I hate my school to guts. Every corner of it contains a bad memory. Each corner worse than the other one. Monsters from my nightmares are everywhere. I am a senior in high-school and I despise every second of it.

Rushing through the hall, I enter the classroom and take a deep breath. I instantly catch the attention of my classmates already sitting at the desks. They look unsurprised, they see me in this state multiple times.

This is a history class. I see it by the walls because they are covered with printed newspaper articles. Black ink is printed on every page making the room seem interesting but dark when you focus on the text. Every article is about World War 3 that happened years ago. History written on those pages seems strange to me but I keep my mouth shut. Not drawing attention to me is my way of coping in this hellhole.

Eventually, I sit at my desk and keep my attention focused on one point in front of me. Without a care in the world, I stare at the whiteboard. As I pierce through it, I sense that the lesson already started. I glance at my teacher and listen to what he is saying.

"Welcome to our history lesson. Today's lesson will cover the topic of World War 3 consequences," the teacher tells us.

Once I hear the topic's name, I daze out completely. Yet another lesson of World War 3. I wonder what is the point of those lessons and what are they supposed to provide us. I asked our teacher this question once. His answer told me nothing but his expression told me everything. Studying people's expression is my interest. His mimic told me that he is unsure, and stressed about the question. Seconds later, he crossed his arms at his chest which suggests that he is not trusting me. I accept this answer, this means that something is not right.

Forty-five minutes spent on my mind constantly racing with thoughts, thankfully without the voices. Many times before I saw in our school how the men in white uniforms are taking someone away. I remember the faces of the people they took, these wore painful expression. Everyone instructed that all of that can happen to us. I did not understand that then but now think it is much more serious.

When they are away, where do they go? The simple question left unanswered. The government seems to hide a lot of information from us.