Lately, life had been kind to Anna Thompson.
Not loud, dazzling kindness, the kind that demands gratitude, but a gentler kind. The sort that settles into your bones quietly, like warm sunlight through a half-open window. The kind that made waking up in the morning feel a little less heavy.
These days, she smiled more than she cried.
It still felt strange to admit that, even to herself.
Raya wasn't around to witness it, and that hurt more than Anna liked to acknowledge. Raya would have teased her relentlessly, accused her of smiling like someone in love, demanded every detail with dramatic disbelief. But Raya was gone, tangled in problems that has nothing to do with Raya herself, and all Anna could do was hope she was safe.
Still… life was moving forward.
Joseph had been good to her. Better than he had ever been before.
