Aria Solstice

Tethered Silence delves into the fragmented psyche of Raven, a young woman bound by roles she never chose. Raised by a mother who grooms her to be both wife to her stepfather and mother to her siblings, Raven’s existence has never been her own. As her body carries the visible marks of her compliance, her mind suffocates under the weight of expectations that seem inescapable.
Raven drifts through life, detached from her emotions and desires—if she ever had any. Her days blur in a numbing cycle of caregiving and survival, and her voice drowns in a silence she has never been allowed to break. On the cusp of adulthood, she finds herself attending college, an environment that promises freedom but only sharpens her awareness of the chains that bind her.
This is not a story of love, nor is it a tale of self-discovery. This is the slow unraveling of a life that was never lived for oneself. There is no salvation here—only the echoes of a mind slowly breaking under the weight of a life never meant to be hers.

Tethered Silence

As we drove, I stared out of the window, watching the buildings blur into a quiet stretch of road. It wasn’t until I noticed we weren’t heading in the direction of campus that I frowned and sat up straighter. 


“Uh, Elias?” I asked hesitantly, my tone tinged with suspicion. “Where exactly are we going?” 


He smirked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “To the beach.” 


I blinked, momentarily speechless. “The beach? Elias, it’s freezing. It’s winter.” 


“Relax, princess.” He gave me a playful wink. “Trust me, I won’t let you freeze. Not on my watch.” 


I sighed, leaning back against the seat but not entirely convinced. “You have the weirdest ideas, you know that?” 


“You love it,” he teased, the smugness in his voice making me roll my eyes. 


Frost and Firelight