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In case you're curious, this is the band/song that inspired the story, and the source material of the opening quote:

Hey, Raven. This is gonna be my first review for a short story so here goes nothing..

Firstly, briliant choice for a title. It doesn't reveal too much but a single big and heavy word is enough to pull in the readers. You make us search it's meaning so we're committed even before we've begun ready, quite cunning. The word seems vague at first but honestly, there could have been no better alternative. The story itself is a bit hazy so it manages to perfectly capture the vibe of things.

Time to dive in the story. Let's divide the bits that took place and see how things progressed in that aspect.

First off, the protagonist getting ready in the morning. As the story debuts, we see her putting in extra effort to look her most elegant self. She puts on light makeup, does her hair and even puts on her favourite lotus clip. As the tale goes on though, we notice more of her energy and the will to get ready draining fast. It goes from simpler looks to knotty hair and bland clothes she doesn't remember buying. While she'd normally move to fix her appearance, she grows too lethargic to try over time. Her mascara smudges on her now sallow cheeks, tired from crying too much. The contrasting pictures are truly horrifying.

Of her house belongings, plants begin wilting and turn to die towards the end. Her decor dolls go missing and the clock which was once fancy, has now faded to grey. But what amused me most were her fading photographs. A thing that remained stagnant for comparatively longer than her other belongings, but eventually went down the same path of dying in nothingness. The first half had me hoping that at least her memories would stay but as she began to fail to recognise her own family in the photos, it felt like my heart went cold. Something I'd not wish on my worst enemy, truly.

But I believe the part where her friends became strangers to be most shattering. You can live in an empty house, but not without people who love and support you. I remember Blake texting her back being my only worry when the story began, but oh boy gradually my prayers kept settling for lesser and lesser. I guess he was the only part that stayed consistent throughout the story- absent. She waited eagerly for his text when she had everything and even when she lost everything, she wished she could be next to him. I could feel my face drop when I read that she'd treat a stranger better than he was treating her. Moving to her colleagues, I find the people you share all the office gossip with, forgetting you, a lot worse than seeing your role in company replaced by a stranger. Among her friends, Blaire was the worst hit. She was told what all was happening to the protagonist and had even assured her that she'd make it to her house after work, which ignited a latent hope. I was thinking how both the friends would now combat the supernatural force against them but alas, Blaire fell into it too. The call made a promise that Blaire would handle things for the protagonist but it broke right after. It was too painful to even imagine myself in the protagonist's shoes. As for Nadia, the protagonist must really regret her decision of turning the offer down when Nadia asked her to come, especially when she saw her singing with Harper while Blaire cheered.

The cafe, I found to be an equally interesting independent parallel of what all was happening outside. First her paintings taken down. At first I thought the owner was committing fraud by lying to her & stealing her art but clearly, I had no clue what to think at that point lol. No folder bears her name and when she goes the last time, nor the bell didn't rang, neither the scent of coffee and chocolate enticed her as it did before.

I thought of the neighbours as a nice detail. How their goodbyes went from warm to neutral to irritant. Until finally, they couldn't even see or listen to her.

While I could make out most of what you were pointing at, I must admit the part about reflections felt a little bit of an ambiguous wildcard that could have used a bit more refining and direction. I interpret it as follows: she feels real, on the outer side of mirror on her good days - free in all her glory. And when she's going through bad days and doesn't bother to clean up or dress well, she feels trapped like the reflection inside the mirror, as if a prisoner of the demons in her head that she couldn't win over that day. Towards the end, she finds herself on neither side of the mirror because she's both- free from life in this world and trapped in a reality she can't comprehend or explain.

As the reader kept on searching for answers with the progression of the story, all he gets is even more questions. Everything remains unanswered as the story concludes. You left us with quite the homework, indeed

My personal interpretation to what truly happened - You mention orange pill bottles beside the lotus clip, a collection that seems to be expanding. Yet we don't see her ever taking those pills. We're not told what they're for, opening the door for psychological hallucinations. While it's too much a stretch I know, I believe the protagonist suffers from a mental disorder far serious and rare than clinical depression or anxiety. Maybe she got diagnosed and wasn't even informed about the severity of her condition, fearing that it would worsen. Maybe her family who lives far from her was told and that's why her sister makes sure to check on her everyday to see how she's doing. Maybe the pills were given to her under the label of mere antidepressants by her doctors. We see her reminiscing Blake, perhaps the breakup was recent that she didn't take her medications, consumed the pain of her heartbreak. That would explain the sudden onset of things, out of nowhere. Also we're mentioned that bad days aren't that new a thing to our protagonist as she talks about them in the first paragraph itself. This suggests a history of disorders, which often are a forerunner to serious psychological complications down the line. Maybe Blake is the key in the fact that he used to make sure she took her medicines daily! He would've been made aware by her family but now that he was suddenly out of the scene and not many knew about, necessary reminders couldn't be made. You mention her to wake lethargic a few days, it would explain if they were classical withdrawal symptoms in case her medications were addicting drugs. I know this theory leaves many gaps and is far from perfect, but it's the best I've got. It answers more than any other explanation and is based on an explored aspect of the story- the orange pill bottles and what mental health issues does the protagonist really face.

A great inculcating story that tears you in shreds bit by bid. Great work, loved it thoroughly.

Hi! I like this story!
I noticed how you used details of the apartment and other people to show signs of danger. As the story proceeds, the protagonist is slowly disappearing from the world. I also noticed that I did not know her name until the end, so it really made me feel as if this person really disappeared, without any trace, and I never knew her name. Is this something that you intended for?
Also, I wonder how you would interpret this story. Did something supernatural just happened, or there were other reasons, e.g. psychological and spiritual?
I love your work! Thank you for sharing the story!