This piece is a special one to me, 'cause my dearest friend worked on it with me by editing it! He works on abstract music and is very talented at it. ❤

*Completed in: 3-5 hours overall between both parties

*Drawn using: Krita

*Edited using: Photoshop and Apophysis

Do you ever feel trapped? As if you've been caught in the web of a spider and lose all hope for freedom, leaving you feeling utterly useless? You might wonder what the point of struggling is. It feels as if no matter what you do, death will eventually come scurrying along, and you will be forgotten as the time flies by. But, let's say in your seemingly futile attempts, you look over and realize you're not the only one trapped. You can quickly tell that they're slowly drifting down the same hopeless state of mind you find yourself in. You call out to them, but they seem to be drowning in misery, so much so that they don't even realize you're there reaching out to them. Out of the blue, an eight-legged horror creeps out and snatches them quickly into a hole in the leaves. They didn't even have time to yell, if they even had the will to in the first place. You're heartbroken, and can't imagine ever even thinking of reaching out again. You'll be dead soon anyways. There's no point anymore. Your life is short and quickly slipping away.

Weary and broken in your attempts, your head swings down in despair. You almost wish you could quicken this process somehow, and invite death in early. As thoughts swarm into your mind, you're interrupted by a voice nearby. You clench your fists as you recall how you were ignored before, stabbing your heart all over again.

They call out to you louder, but you refuse to give a response. They scream in anger and desperation, but you lack enough emotional energy and will to care. The surroundings grow quiet, as if all of existence is suffering in silence. You've suffered and yelled all day, and have nothing left. Your heart feels as if it's been torn out of your chest, and as if your mind is constantly teasing you. In that moment, you hear soft crying, and look over in curiosity. You see a figure much like yourself, who has almost completely detached themselves from the web, but seems to have given up over halfway. They must have been who was reaching out to you earlier, but now they hang there with their arms wrapped around themselves, perhaps in an attempt to create an illusion of physical comfort, weeping hopelessly.

Without much of a second thought, you call out to them. Your voice cracks under the pressure, but they seem to hear you, and look over back towards you. Very briefly, you feel a spark of hope. It's not much, but it'll get the job done. With all of your remaining energy, you reach over to them, and plead for them to reach back. They seem hesitant to release their arms from around their chest. You know exactly how they feel, but lack words to describe it. They look up and make brief eye contact with you before quickly jerking over and grabbing a nearby twig, which then allows them to pull themselves free.

This is exactly what you expected anyways, but at least you had the opportunity to see another become free, someone like you, who might be able to make a difference out there. Suddenly, you're jabbed in the eye with something from above, and see that they've reached down a twig for you. You grab hold, and are pulled out of your misery.

One day, you'll fall back into that web, and succumb to the death that forged it. You'll be trapped in it many times before that fateful day even, and your hopelessness will clamp onto you all over again. You look down back into the web, and consider jumping right back in to end it here and now. But in that moment, you look back over to your rescuer, who's smiling brightly at you, expressing thankfulness beyond words. Hope sparks within you, and the temptation of jumping quickly leaves you.

You reach over to them and catch them up into a hug. You're both smiling with glee, both as happy as you can be.

You're both finally free!