Seraphina opened her eyes slowly, the light already filling the small room. For a second, she didn't move. She just lay there, staring at the ceiling like she had forgotten where she was.
Then everything came back, her chest tightened.
She sat up slowly, her gaze drifting to the small table by the wall. The breakfast she made the previous morning was still there, cold and untouched.
The sight made something twist inside her. She pushed herself to her feet and walked over, staring at it for a moment longer before turning away. She wasn't hungry, she hadn't been since yesterday. The house felt emptier now. Her mother hadn't come back. Seraphina glanced at the door like she expected it to open… or maybe she knew she wasn't coming but still hoped she did.
But hope, they say, changes nothing, or maybe it does, for some people but certainly not Seraphina.
A breath left her slowly.
She's not coming back.
