210. The House She Hid InNova

This house does not greet me with noise. It doesn’t rush me. It doesn’t demand anything from me the way New York did, the way memories did, the way expectations did.

Instead, it receives me. Quietly and softly like it always has.

The moment I step into the bathroom, something inside me exhales. Not fully. Not completely. But enough to loosen the tightness that has been sitting in my chest since I left.

Or maybe since I returned.

I close the door behind me ...