After Lina left the hospital room, silence settled in—soft, fragile, but not uncomfortable.
It was just Elena and me now.
For the first time in a while, we finally had the chance to talk properly. About everything we hadn't been able to say before.
"So… you were in the slums all this time?"
Elena's eyes widened as she listened to my story, genuine shock written all over her face.
"Yeah," I replied with a small shrug. "You could say I was practically homeless. Sleeping wherever I could, moving from place to place."
As soon as I said it out loud, memories surged back uninvited.
The stench of rotting garbage clinging to the air.
The narrow alleys where sunlight barely reached the ground.
Cockroaches scattering at every step. Rats bold enough to stare back at you, unafraid.
People who would smile at you one moment and stab you the next if they thought you were weak.
I grimaced slightly.
…I never want to go back there.
