3rd August 2026
"Dear Mom and Dad,
I tried..I tried my best to keep going but I just can't anymore. I feel scared of my own reflection in the mirror. I can't handle the pitiful stares from the strangers anymore. No matter how much I try to accept myself, it keeps getting worse. I hate myself. I shouldn't have slapped him that day. I am sorry, but I just can't do it now. Today is my 19th birthday and I'm going to gift myself by ending this pain forever. I am sorry for not being your strong girl. I love you, Mom, Dad and James. —Selene."
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I folded the s*icide note, I just wrote. I started going through the photo album with the photos of me before that acid attack happened. I wanted to look at myself for the last time before I cut my own arm and leave this cruel world forever.
I still think about all the things I could've done differently before that acid attack happened—one of them being "not slapping the guy". It all started with some random stalking. Then, he slowly began following me everyday for a month from my way back to home from College. I ignored it for a very long time, but that day, he crossed the limits, he beat my brother, James, thinking he was my boyfriend. Then, he started expressing his "obsession" for me. But I confronted him and rejected him right away. He became violent and started cursing me and my FAMILY. And then, I SLAPPED HIM.
After that day, I never saw him again—I thought finally I was able to get rid of him, but...
It was 7:15 p.m, the sun was hiding behind the tall buildings. I checked my phone and it read "3rd August 2025", it was my birthday. I just came back from my part time job when suddenly I saw a shadow behind me. My heart clenched and my feet automatically started pacing up. Suddenly, the steps grew closer and I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
"There's no point in running away", the man said.
Instead of running away, I faced towards him and my eyes saw that familiar face again—The one I slapped few months ago.
"Why are you here?", I asked him but my body somehow knew the answer.
But instead of answering he took a step towards me and threw a liquid on my face. At first, it was just a blinding, searing pain, like my skin had erupted into fire. I gasped, choking on the acrid smell, and my eyes burned so badly I could barely see. I flailed, my hands scrabbling to wipe it away, but it only spread faster, crawling across my skin like it was alive. My chest tightened, my heart was hammering in my ears, and for a second, the world tilted and I felt like I was slipping out of it. Every second stretched, every scream stuck somewhere in my throat, and I couldn't believe this was happening to me.
