FAYE
I stood before the mirror, fully dressed for the trip, my hands smoothing the front of my jacket though there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight. All I could feel was the heavy stillness inside me.
For hours, I’d ignored it...the quiet, the strange emptiness...but now, staring at my reflection, I couldn’t. I looked the same on the outside, but I didn’t feel the same.
“Nova,” I whispered, closing my eyes, focusing. I reached inward the way I always did, searching for that spark—the warmth that always responded, the familiar rush of shared energy that reminded me I was never alone. Her voice... nothing.
Nothing... just silence.
I tried again, harder this time, steadying my breathing, pushing past the noise of my thoughts. Nova, come on… please.
Still nothing.
My pulse quickened. I pressed
