Chapter 1
For as long as he could remember, his home had been a prison, a place of relentless control and suffocating silence. His father, a man who wore anger like a second skin, had enforced a regime of fear that kept Draco bound in an invisible cage. Each day was a cycle of pain and dread, each night a reminder that escape was only a dream.
But tonight was different. He had finally broken free. The cold night air stung his skin as he ran, his breath forming clouds that quickly dissipated into the darkness. He had no plan, no destination, just a desperate need to be anywhere but there.
He wandered the streets of London , his footsteps echoing in the alleys. The neon sign of a small coffee shop caught his eye, and he hesitated, drawn by the warmth spilling from its windows. He pushed open the door and was greeted by the murmur of voices and the smell of coffee beans. The sign near the counter read, "Open Mic Night."
He had shuffled to the back, hoping to disappear among the patrons. The host, a man with a gentle voice and kind eyes, was calling for the next performer. Draco watched as a girl stepped onto the small stage, her guitar cradled in her arms. She sang a haunting melody about lost love and forgotten dreams, her voice filled with raw emotion.
Something inside him stirred. The pain, the fear, the years of silent suffering—they all bubbled to the surface. He found himself rising from his seat, his heart pounding in his chest. Before he could second-guess himself, he was on the stage, the microphone stand looming like a giant.
He took a deep breath, his hands trembling. The crowd watched in silence, their faces a blur of curiosity and expectation. His voice cracking as he began to speak, the words tumbling out in a torrent of emotion.
"My name is Draco," he began, his voice barely a whisper. "I’ve spent my whole life in a place where love was a weapon and silence was a shield. My father... he was a man who didn’t know how to be anything but angry. Every day, I lived in fear. Every night, I prayed for an escape."
He paused, swallowing hard. The room was deathly quiet, every eye fixed on him.
"Tonight, I ran away. I don't know where I'm going or what comes next. I just know that I couldn’t stay there anymore." His voice grew stronger, fueled by the release of years of pent-up pain. "For so long, I’ve felt like a ghost, trapped in a life that wasn’t mine. But standing here, I feel... I feel real."
Tears blurred his vision as he continued. "I don't want to be afraid anymore. I want to find a place where I belong, where I can be more than just a shadow. Maybe that place is here, with people who understand what it means to hurt and to heal."
There was no turning back. All the years of pain and suffering drowning away. His sorrow no longer comes. Draco had felt empowered.
So he continued to speak.
“In a cage of shadows, where the light dares not tread,
Lies a boy bound by chains, a prisoner in his head.
Wings clipped, spirit crushed, his heart beats slow,
Locked away like a dove, with nowhere to go.
In the silence of night, whispers of despair,
Echo through the darkness, filling the air.
Branded by the devil, a mark so deep,
His dreams turn to ashes, his soul cannot sleep.
Eyes like shattered glass, reflecting a broken sky,
A world of torment, where angels fear to fly.
Every breath is a battle, every moment a fight,
In the dungeon of his mind, there is no light.
He reaches for freedom, but his hands come back scarred,
Each attempt at escape, met with the devil’s guard.
Hope fades to a whisper, a ghost of what was,
In this hellish existence, where mercy is lost.
His tears carve rivers down a face etched in pain,
A testament to a life lived in chains.
No solace, no comfort, no end to the night,
Just the unending struggle, just the ceaseless fight.
He screams to the heavens, but the stars do not hear,
His voice swallowed by darkness, consumed by fear.
Trapped in this prison, with no key, no door,
A boy lost to the world, a dove that can’t soar.
In the depth of his soul, a fire still burns,
A flicker of rebellion, a desire that yearns.
But the brand on his skin, a reminder so stark,
Keeps him tethered in place, keeps him lost in the dark.
Yet in the darkest of nights, a glimmer might show,
A whisper of strength, a chance to let go.
For even in torment, in the devil’s cruel game,
The human spirit can rise, can defy, can reclaim.
So he waits for that moment, when his wings will unfold,
When the chains will break, and his story be told.
A boy once locked away, now free to embrace,
The dawn of his freedom, the light of his grace.”
The words hung in the air, raw and honest. The crowd remained silent for a moment, then erupted into applause. Draco stood there, overwhelmed by the sound, the validation, the understanding. For the first time in his life, he felt seen.