“m:lk” is a hand-drawn, 2D animated film using a Straight-Ahead animation method and created using a combination of programs such as Toon Boom Harmony and Photoshop. This short story is an intimate piece meant to convey periods of isolation as one identifies the concept of the self with their innermost conflictions. The conflicts addressed regard health, symbiotic relationships and how comfort may either be found in choosing sickness or a reinterpretation of the self. The main characters involve a lone, distorted figure named “Sym” and an amalgamation of pig-like bellies named “Annabelle.” Our film begins in an isolated space as Sym stands with their head hung low in a floating tub as fluid begins to drip from the faucet above. While there is no dialogue exchanged between the two characters, the sounds that they emit are specific to them, i.e. the bell chimes and plucked strings signifying Sym’s strained youth and the viscous, sticky noises specific to Annabelle’s presence as a physical yet otherworldly entity. Color and absence of scenery are intentionally chosen as to abstract the idea of a clinical setting as well as amplify the sensation of seclusion whether navigating through sickness or adapting to healing. The piece is inspired by orr’s time having lived in various hospitals and psychiatric wards for treating their declining mental and physical health. All of which later helped them reach a point of recognizing what healing meant for them outside of those confined spaces.