The car glided through the streets of the unfamiliar city, its sleek black frame a small fortress of solitude for Reina. She sat in the back seat, hands folded in her lap, eyes fixed on the blur of buildings passing by. Outside, the world moved on without her, but inside, her mind was a storm.
Three years. Three long, relentless years that had carved invisible scars into her soul. Nights spent staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of invisible hands pressing down on her chest. Tears that came unbidden, shaking her silently in the darkness. Moments when anxiety struck so sharply she felt like she might disappear entirely. The memories of those years were fragments—some vivid, some shadowed—but each one left its mark, a constant whisper reminding her how fragile she had become.
She pressed her palm to her temple, trying to shut out the surge of recollections. Not here. Not now. She couldn't let the ghosts of the past follow her into this new city.
The driver's voice broke through, calm and steady."Miss Reina, we've arrived at the university."
Her head jerked up, and she blinked, startled by how suddenly the car had stopped. The sprawling campus stretched before her, unfamiliar and intimidating, yet brimming with possibility. Buildings gleamed in the morning sun, pathways wound between gardens, and the faint hum of student life reached her ears.
Reina lingered in her seat a moment longer, letting the newness sink in. This place—this chance—was a sanctuary she had been waiting for, even if she hadn't known it. It was a place where she could breathe, where she could begin to stitch together the pieces of herself that the past had torn apart.
The air outside was crisp, brushing her skin like a promise. She took a deliberate, steadying breath, her fingers curling around the strap of her bag. No more hiding. No more letting the past control her.
Yet, even as she stepped out of the car, a shadow lingered behind her eyes—a reminder that some memories could not be erased so easily. The moments when grief and fear would rise unexpectedly, breaking her composure in a way that left her vulnerable, exposed, raw. She had learned to mask it, to smile, to pretend. But deep down, the storm was always there, waiting.
Adjusting her bag over her shoulder, Reina squared her shoulders, letting the weight of determination replace the heaviness in her chest. Today, she would begin anew. Today, she would reclaim her story.
And somewhere, in the quiet corners of this city, new encounters—and perhaps dangers—were waiting to test her, to challenge the walls she had built around herself.
With one final glance at the car that had carried her here, Reina walked toward the entrance of the university, ready to face the unknown and, quietly, ready to face herself.