What was left was just an echo in this hollow space, filled with forgotten laughter. The newspaper from last Tuesday lay unopened on that table with a broken leg, its headlines shouting about a past that felt as distant as a past life. I picked it up, not to read, but to feel its texture, for tangible proof that it was real. Sometimes, the silence was so profound, I thought my ears might start ringing with the sound of nothing. That's when I'd launch into a sing-a-long – usually to some cheesy pop song from the 90s, the kind designed to make you believe in peace and harmony even when the world outside felt anything but. It was my own personal, slightly desperate attempt to convince myself that it was still all good. The song of self-comfort, I'd tell myself, it better be good. It better be enough to patch my wound like a Band-Aid, strong enough to numb the pain. Because if it wasn't, if this flimsy attempt failed, then what? ![taiki-ishikawa-JpHf9wwCTsM-unsplash.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmeiui372pxahn62YSDhhiRz2p8pDoVdcHKYF8hhBSzU9w/taiki-ishikawa-JpHf9wwCTsM-unsplash.jpg) ^{Photo by Taiki Ishikawa on Unsplash} Then I might as well rewrite it all by placing myself as the protagonist in a manga, giving myself a new life and world in an isekai world. There will always be hope if that's the case. prompts used: Monday -Echo Tuesday - newspaper Wednesday - Sing-a-long Thursday - peace and harmony Friday - The song of... Saturday -better be Sunday -manga Prompt provided by @freewritehouse