[Intro] They forgot me... I forgot me... [Verse 1] Red dirt on her boots, dust on the family shrine Valhanna was a prisoner to a toxic bloodline Straight A student sitting silent on a rusting machine Five years after graduation, bleeding out slow Bleeding for a dream that they never let grow She wanted to heal, follow the nurse's call But the family built a shadow, a rising wooden wall They called her a traitor when she stepped out the door Locked the heavy gates to the life she knew before She took her fragile savings, every dollar she could hide And walked into the freezing rain with no one by her side [Chorus] Oh, Valhanna, the highway was wide With the first year of tuition and a fire inside They told you to stay, told you to bow But you wanted to heal the world outside of the plow [Vocals shift, deep gothic echo] Holding onto a dream that was never bought or sold Now you’re carrying the venom of a broken heart Yeah, the venom of a broken heart... [Verse 2] Winter hit the pavement, ice crawling up the glass Struggling for tuition, watching futures pass To keep the pages turning, keep a roof overhead She stepped into the neon where the hollow eyes are fed Gentleman’s club, stage lights, dancing for the fees But the rumors traveled home like a sweeping disease No mercy from the pulpit, just a bridge set aflame They disowned Valhanna, tried to erase her name in shame They demanded a confession, wanted her to repent But she refused to sell her soul for the peace they meant [Chorus] Oh, Valhanna, the highway was wide With the first year of tuition and a fire inside They told you to stay, told you to bow But you wanted to heal the world outside of the plow [Vocals shift, deep gothic echo] Holding onto a dream that was never bought or sold Now you’re carrying the venom of a broken heart Yeah, the venom of a broken heart... [Bridge] Then a monster stepped in, a devil in disguise Feeding her addiction with a thousand dirty lies Trapped in his cycle, black eyes and a bruised mind Locked in a hell that his cruelty designed Years of the terror, fists crashing through her head Waking up in trauma, wishing she was dead [Mournful slide guitar enters] But the law finally came, put the monster in a cage Left him rotting in a cell to burn in his own rage She kicked the poison from her veins, broke his violent grip But freedom was a cliff where her sanity would slip [Verse 3] The monster is in prison, the room is completely still But the damage done inside her is a void she cannot fill Broken, scared, and trembling, staring at her hands A nurse who wanted healing in a world that just demands The trauma is a phantom sitting heavy on her chest It reached into her throat and it choked out all the rest She opens up her mouth, but the vocal cords are dead Just the sound of hollow breathing and the static in her head [Climax] At the edge of the darkness, she hit the absolute floor Tried to take her own life, couldn't take it anymore! Flatline on the monitor, standing at the gates Fighting with the shadows and the fury of the fates! But the spark inside Valhanna refused to let it fade She beat the tragic odds and the choices she had made! Her heart started beating through the static and the strife A breathless survivor dragging back into life! [Outro] Red dirt on her boots, a million miles away Valhanna is a shadow blooming out of the gray The silence is a casket... the silence is a cloud... She lost her voice... but she’s still standing proud [Outro Solo] [Spoken Word] If you are standing at the edge of the dark. Your story does not end here. An abuser tried to tell you that you are worthless. Addiction whispered that you are a failure. Depression lied to you in the quiet of the night. Saying you are completely alone. None of this true! The cruelty you endured was their darkness, never your value. You are not the scars or the shadow in your past. You are the resilient soul who survived it all. You do not have to fix your entire life by sunset. Simply drawing breath is a radical act of bravery. Rock bottom is not a graveyard. It is the solid ground to rebuild your name. Break through the grasp. Step into the light. Never apologize for choosing to live.
