The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the kitchen as I gently cracked an egg into the mixing bowl, the rhythmic tap a soft counterpoint to the quiet of the room. "I was eight when we moved abroad," Kaya began, her voice a low murmur, lost in thought as she measured the flour. "I returned to Feather City after I finished my university. Coming back from the airport, I just... stopped at the hill. Needed to breathe."
A wistful smile touched my lips, "That's when you met me?" I asked. Her gaze drifted towards the window, where the first stars were beginning to prick the twilight sky. "It was midnight, I remember. And you were there, drinking with a cat beside you. I'd never met you before, never even seen your face."
I looked up, a smudge of flour on my cheek, and a gentle laugh escaped me. "A mess, as you put it?"
