Chapter 60

• "Khrystal." I felt a faint tap on my shoulder as I heard my mother's voice. Her tone was soft, laced with concern, yet tinged with that usual quiet authority that had always made me listen. I slowly opened my eyes and saw her standing in front of me. I dozed off. I didn't realize that maybe because I was tired, the exhaustion of the past days catching up all at once. My body had been holding tension for so long, every nerve alert, every thought a spiral of worry, and now it simply demanded rest. I glanced at Gio and found him still sleeping, his small chest rising and falling in slow, steady rhythm. Next I looked for Gia. I smiled when Daddy was with her and gave her his peeled apple. The sight of them together—so comfortable, so tender—brought both warmth and a pang of sadness to my heart, reminding me how fragile and fleeting these moments could be.
• "I'm going to buy our food outside first," said Mom. Her voice carried an undertone of habitual responsibility, a natural instinct to care, to provide, which always comforted me even in the most chaotic of times.
• I immediately shook my head and then stood up. "Leave it to me. I'm also going to buy something outside." I wanted to feel useful, to move, to reclaim some semblance of normalcy. The thought of sitting still while the world moved without me felt unbearable.