The Fall Risk

“It was like the universe wanted me sequestered this weekend, so I had no choice but to mull over the very strange turn that my life had taken over the last year.”

Seth reflects on the unexpected stillness forced upon him, interpreting the staircase debacle as the universe’s way of pressing pause on his life. The passage foreshadows the radical changes that will occur in Seth’s life because of the missing stairs. His sardonic tone reveals resistance to introspection, yet the stillness is exactly what prompts self-reflection.

“The second I realized the stairs were gone, it was the safest I’ve felt in a year.”

Charlotte’s words to Izzy reveal just how profoundly her sense of safety has been eroded by her trauma. The fact that missing stairs, typically an inconvenience or hazard, brings her relief reveals how Charlotte has adapted to a world where safety means sacrificing freedom and connection. She has been living in a constant state of hypervigilance, with no true peace. Trauma has reshaped her perception of the world, and the missing stairs symbolize the degree to which fear has severed her connection with the world.

“Sometimes it felt like he had already killed me. A part of me.”

This simile captures the profound psychological toll that Charlotte’s stalker has inflicted on her. Trauma isn’t always caused by physical violence; emotional and psychological terror can fracture a person’s identity, leaving parts of them numb, silenced, or lost. Charlotte feels as if she has already lost pieces of herself in the absence of her joy, confidence, and sense of safety.