-Aria-
The smell of charred wood still lingered in my mind, a phantom that haunted every waking moment. It was funny how the smell of something burning used to evoke warmth, like a fireplace on a cold winter night, but now it sent icy shards of panic into my chest. I lay beneath the covers, cocooned in my sheets, scrolling through my phone as if it were my lifeline. Every notification, every ping was a reminder of the life I used to have—not the life that was reduced to a husk of singed dreams and memories.
I could hear the muffled voices of my parents down the hall, their conversations a blend of worry and determination. They were fighting for me without knowing how I had already resigned myself to the tragedy. How do you comfort someone who feels like they’ve already lost everything? I
