Mia's Decision, Sona's Trust
The air retained the scent of Nova's perfume.
Although she disappeared from the courtyard, what was left wasn't silence, but a sort of emotional afterglow. The air she had left was warm, with her presence touching it—a diminishing heat that clung to the air like a memory that did not want to be lost. Leon did not budge immediately. His golden gaze rested for a moment on the position where she had been, as if waiting for her to turn around and reappear. But she didn't. Taking a deep breath, he turned at last, ready to walk away.
It was then that the gentle rhythm of footsteps shattered the silence.
From the row of women standing quietly in the background, one stepped forward in a small, tentative manner. Her step was not courageous. It was laced with doubt, as if she walked in the face of the wind of her own doubts. Every step further seemed to take more of her will.
She was Mia.