168. The Morning She Chooses Him

Nova

I wake before the alarm. Not because of a dream. Not because of panic but because my body is finished hiding. For the second day, I don't wake up with panic. There is a strange peace in me.

For a moment, I stay still, listening to the quiet hum of the city outside the hotel window. New York doesn’t sound the way it used to when I lived here. Or maybe it does, and I’m the one who has changed. The sirens are farther apart. The air-conditioning unit ...