Summer kills

From the grandeur of their mansion, the sun shone bright, its glowing rays piercing through the stained-glass windows casting kaleidoscopic patterns on the marble floors. Ruby,happened to pass by the balcony. She saw Ethan and Olivia locked in a passionate kiss through the open window of the regal manor. The sight before her was nothing short of captivating - it was the epitome of young love in all its intense fervor and unadulterated passion.

A pang of envy shot through her like a lightning bolt. She felt a surge of unexpected desire and confusion-emotions she had always suppressed. The raw intensity of the scene unfolding before her made her feel a torrent of forbidden emotions a potent mix of lust, jealousy, and bitterness.

With a heavy heart and lingering desire churning within her, she stormed back to her own room. Stricken by the stark difference between her solitary life and their shared essence of love, she found herself succumbing to her long-suppressed desires. As if possessed by an unknown force, she began to seek solace in her own touch-a desperate attempt to quench a thirst that had been awakened by witnessing Olivia and Ethan's fiery love.

Her anger simmered beneath the surface; her desperation was palpable in every breath she took. Their love story was a painful reminder of what she yearned for but could never have. It was not just about physical desire-it was about wanting to share such an intense connection with someone else something she'd never experienced.

And as Ruby lay there in the dimly lit room in the aftermath of her lonely indulgence, she felt an overpowering sense of despair washing over her. Her heart yearned for a love as profound and pure as Ethan and Olivia's-the kind that defied societal norms and conquered all adversities.

The cruel twist of fate was not lost on her. She, too, belonged to the same affluent society as Ethan and Olivia-an environment which could gut its inhabitants of genuine emotions under the overwhelming weight of pretense and deceit. Yet, in spite of all their shared circumstances, they had found an unyielding love, a bond she could only dream of. It was a tale she was a bystander to a story she could only long to be a part of. Their love story would continue to unravel, etching itself deeper into her heart, a poignant reminder of her own loneliness.

In her dreams, Ruby began to create a different world, an alternate reality, in which she was not a mere spectator but also the protagonist of her own love story. She constructed the image of a boy-a counterpart to her longing soul-whose silhouette danced teasingly at the edge of her consciousness. Every night he existed only as a phantom, his features elusive and blurred, like a puzzle piece that defied resolution.

She would imagine his hands-strong yet gentle as if she knew what it was like to be held by him. She envisioned his laughter-sonorous and infectious-as if she had been privy to his joyous moments. She conjured up conversations with him-intense, heartfelt exchanges-that left her feeling seen and understood. His words would echo within her long into the night, lulling her into a fitful slumber filled with images of their shared happiness.

Her dream world was a place where the society that had been an iron-clad box around her desires dissolved into insignificance. There was only the boy and herself-entwined heartbeats reverberating in the vast emptiness filled with their shared dreams.

With each passing day, Ruby grew more comfortable in this world of make-believe, spending more time immersing herself in these dreamt-up interactions. The line between reality and fantasy blurred for her until it became too fine to perceive. The boy became more real to her than any of the people she interacted with in her wakeful hours.

But then dawn would break, erasing all traces of the nocturnal mirage. She would awaken alone, wrapped in sheets dampened with longing and yearning. The emptiness that accompanied daytime would swallow her again, mocking her futile attempts at finding solace in the contours of her mind.

It left Ruby wondering whether she was doomed to only dream about love or if someday it could become a waking reality for her. Thus, submerging herself again and again into that fantasy, she lived for the nights when she was not alone but rather in the loving embrace of a dream boy who could never be hers.

The dreams began to shift in tone. The once vibrant colors of her dreamland started to fade, replaced by hues of the deepest and most desolate greys. The boy who once held her in his warm arms now was a shadowy figure, less substantial, his touch cold and ethereal. His laughter, which used to echo like a sweet melody in the valley of her dream world, turned into an eerie resonance that seemed to mock her solitude.

This world that had once been an escape from reality was now a nightmare she could not wake up from. The mountains they once climbed together became towering cliffs dropping off into a never-ending abyss. The river they swam in turned into a swirling maelstrom of frigid waters pulling her under. Even the wind that ruffled her hair now howled like a beast possessed.

Ruby would wake in a cold sweat, her heart pounding against her rib cage as if trying to escape the horrors of her dreams. The agony of longing was replaced by this new, tangible fear - one that made her question not just reality but also her very sanity.

Yet even through the terror and confusion, she found herself yearning for the dreamscape again come dusk. She was caught in this terrifying cycle, trapped within the confines of her own mind where reality eroded away to be replaced by this grotesque mirage.

Every night. Every terrifyingly long night.

Was it love or madness? Was she descending into insanity, or was it merely the torment of unrequited love? Ruby found no answers - only more questions that looped endlessly in her thoughts during the day, creating an unbearable cacophony.

The sunlight began to feel alien on her skin; the laughter of people around felt like shards of glass against her raw emotions. Her only solace remained those tormented dreams where she gambled between wanting and fearing the boy who now seemed as elusive as the moonlight slipping through one's fingers.

As she dared to dream again, her heart heavy and her sanity hanging by a fine thread, Ruby could only hope that the dawn would bring another day, not just an end to the nightmare. As she stepped again into the realm of dreams, she knew she risked losing herself entirely... but what was life without a little bit of risk? After all, madness and love were two sides of the same coin.