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

Elias tilted his head slightly, resting his chin lightly against the top of my head. His warmth seeped through me, but my mind was still reeling, caught between the weight of what just happened and the lingering heat of his lips. My forehead was pressed to his chest, and I couldn’t bring myself to move or speak. I had no idea what to say—or how to think, for that matter. 


"You’re awfully quiet,” he murmured, his voice a low hum that vibrated through me. His arms around me loosened slightly, giving me space without fully letting go. “Too quiet for someone who always seems to have a sharp comeback ready.” 


I swallowed hard, my lips tingling in a way that made it impossible to argue. Was he teasing me now? I wasn’t sure. My heart was pounding too loudly to tell. “I don’t know what to say,” I finally mumbled, my voice muffled against him. 


The Turning Point