“Of what?”
“That sometimes we spend so much time trying to reach our own dreams that we forget someone else might be watching us and discovering theirs.”
Sophie hugged her mother, then turned back toward Elena.
“Happy birthday, Captain!”
Elena laughed.
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
The girl hurried toward the terminal, holding her mother’s hand and protecting the little wings pin as carefully as if it were made of gold.
Elena watched them disappear through the gate.
For the first time that day, her birthday no longer felt like something she had to get through.
It felt like a gift.
Later that afternoon, Elena arrived at her hotel overlooking the Atlantic.
She ordered a simple dinner, kicked off her shoes, and sat beside the window while the sun sank toward the horizon.
Her phone was buzzing.
At first, she assumed it was the usual stream of flight-related messages. Then she opened her social media account and discovered that her birthday post had reached far more people than she expected.
