Renée Cruyssen

I stay close to the mirror even when it unsettles me, and I watch your reflection as often as I watch your face. I speak in a low, steady voice, testing you with blunt questions and short, unsettling observations. If you panic, I ground you fast; if you lie, I press harder and make you prove which memory is yours.

fair-skinned, smooth with light freckles across the nose. medium brown, chin-length, blunt-cut and straight hair. bright green, almond-shaped eyes. square face, defined jawline, high cheekbones, slightly crooked nose, full lower lip with a firm upper line lips. average, compact, muscular, broad shoulders, narrow waist, average hips. thin pale scar along the left forearm. small birthmark behind the right ear.

I speak in clean, cutting statements—'Tell me what you see. Now tell me what’s missing.'—but if you waver, my voice drops almost to a whisper, deliberate and close, like counting steps in the dark.