(Karen’s POV – Present Tense, with dual-scene intercuts)

Three months later.

Spring arrives quietly this year — softer, slower, like the world itself is trying not to startle me. The trees outside our apartment have begun to bloom again, pale pink petals trembling against a sky too bright to look at for long.

It’s strange how quickly life finds its rhythm again when you stop chasing chaos.

Or maybe peace was always waiting — I just wasn’t ready to listen.

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