Chapter 51

• I had trouble falling asleep. Despite spending hours gazing at the ceiling, I haven't yet felt drowsy. In the end, I simply made the decision to leave the room and prepare a milk in the kitchen. The silence of the house pressed down on me, almost too heavy to bear. I could hear the faint hum of the refrigerator and the distant ticking of the wall clock, each second dragging and refusing to let me rest. My mind wandered to the events of the previous days, to Agustine, to Lhea, and to the weight of decisions I could no longer postpone. Every creak of the floorboards seemed louder in the quiet night, as if the house itself were awake and listening to my thoughts.
• "You are still awake."
• I looked up at Daddy when he spoke. He had just entered the kitchen and was holding a tumbler. I smiled at him and raised my glass. His calm presence was like an anchor in the storm of my restless mind. I could feel the warmth of familiarity, the comfort of a presence that had always been a refuge when the world felt too complicated. Even now, I felt a little lighter just seeing him there.