Each morning Ash finds a new scar on his body. He can't recall how they got there - until one day, a stranger points to one and says, "I have those too."

He knows they aren’t from him. Throughout the day he started noticing gaps. Not holes in the world, but in his own mind. One moment he'd be walking home from school, the next he'd be in his room, hours later, with no memory of the in-between. At first, he thought he was just daydreaming, but then came the scars. Thin, red lines appearing on his arms, his legs, places he didn't remember hurting himself.

He started keeping a journal, writing down everything he did, every thought he had, trying to catch the moments before they slipped away. But the gaps remained, and the scars multiplied. He researched online, late at night when his parents were asleep, his heart pounding in his chest as he read about Dissociative Identity Disorder. Could it be? Could there be other Ash’s living inside him, that he didn't know, who hated him enough to hurt him?

The thought terrified him, but it also offered an explanation, a reason for the lost time and the unexplained pain. He knew he needed help, but how could he explain this to anyone without sounding crazy?

Ash hesitated, then out reached a tentative hand. "Those..." a young girl began quietly, pointing to Ash’s arm. "Those look like mine."

Ash flinched, pulling his sleeve down quickly. His eyes darted around, as if searching for an escape route. "What do you mean?" he mumbled, his voice barely audible above the others in the courtyard.

"The cuts," the girl pressed on, her voice trembling slightly. “I have those scars too!”

A flicker of understanding crossed her face. "It's them," she said, almost to herself. "It's always them."

Ash looked back, suspicion warring with something else in his eyes - a flicker of recognition, maybe even relief. Slowly, he pushed up his sleeve again, revealing a web of similar scars crisscrossing his forearm.

"I call them shadows," he whispered. "They come when I'm not me. I don't know how they get there, but... but they just appear." He continued on “And them..? You know who is doing this?”

She nodded slowly. "I have others," she explained. "Different people inside me. Some are... angry. They want to punish me."

Ash’s eyes widened. "You know their names?"

"I do," she confirmed. "There's Sarah, she's the protector. She tries to keep the others under control. Then there's Maya... she's the one who hurts us. And a few others. It's... complicated."

Ash swallowed hard. "I think I have others too. I just... I don't know them yet."

"It takes time," the girl said, a hint of sympathy in her voice. "It's like learning to live with strangers inside your own head." She extended a hand. "I'm Alex."

A wave of dizziness washed over Ash. He wasn't alone. Someone else understood. Maybe together, they could figure this out. A fragile hope blossoming in his chest. "I'm Ash." Taking her hand, a mix of fear and relief swirling within him. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as lost as he thought.