ANAYA POV
I was staring at the horizon at the door, waiting for my mom to get back home. The sun felt hot against my skin, throwing a golden hue upon everything as I rocked back and forth in impatience with each passing minute. The air itself thrummed with silence, dotted occasionally by a stray chirp of a bird or the muffled sound of an engine.
And then it came- a shiny black SUV speeding to the house, shining in the sun with the deep dark luster of a polished pebble. One heartbeat of joy rushed through my excited veins. "Surely, Mom is back!" was the barely audible voice inside me, and the wave of relief was just washing over me.
I felt a great sense of anticipation building as I peered through the windshield of the oncoming vehicle to see Mom slowly getting out. She was moving as if
