She looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
“Ma’am.”
She smiled.
“I know you didn’t always make things easy for her.”
Vega glanced at me.
“No, ma’am.”
“But you stayed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
My mother nodded.
“That mattered.”
Then she walked away.
I looked at Vega.
“She likes you.”
“I noticed.”
“She didn’t like you three months ago.”
“I noticed that too.”
We both laughed.
The sun was setting behind the training grounds.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
I touched the scar beneath my uniform.
It was still there.
It would always be there.
I no longer wished it weren’t.
It reminded me of my sister.
It reminded me of the woman I had been.
And it reminded me that surviving wasn’t the end of the story.
Sometimes survival was simply the moment when the next chapter finally became possible.
Vega looked at me.
“You okay?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
He waited.
I knew what he was really asking.
Was I really okay?
I took a breath.
“I’m not afraid of the scar anymore.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
“And I’m not afraid of asking for help.”
“Better.”
I smiled.
“And I’m definitely not afraid of you anymore.”
He laughed.
“That one might be a problem.”
