The Price of Breathing

Freedom isn’t something you earn after years of sacrifice. It’s a memory. A decision. A quiet revolt against the idea that your breath should come with a receipt.

A young woman exhales as she holds a glowing coin, her breath visibly captured inside it, while a faceless figure in a suit reaches out to take it from her
They told you money was earned through labor but never mentioned it cost your breath. This is the moment you realize the system was never asking for your time. It was collecting your life.