By the time she grew older, Lilly had stopped trying.
Effort was meaningless.
Kindness was meaningless.
Smiles were meaningless.
The small, fleeting warmth of recognition or connection had long since vanished.
Life offered her nothing but the same cold silence and the same endless nights.
Her parents continued their neglect.
Her peers continued their indifference.
The world did not care, and she had stopped caring in return.
She walked through it all as a shadow, unseen, unheard, unremembered.