The taxi jerked to a stop outside the small apartment building, and the sound of the city pressed close — car horns, a vendor shouting somewhere down the street, the low hum of evening. But inside the cab, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
Aria sat there, staring through the glass, one arm cradling a tiny bundle while the other rested protectively over the small carrier beside her. Another lay on Mrs. Grace’s lap, already drifting to sleep. Three small breaths. Three lives.
Her throat tightened. She hadn’t realized how heavy silence could feel when it carried responsibility.
“Come on, dear,” Mrs. Grace said softly. “We’re home.”
Home. The word felt strange on her tongue.
The driver helped unload the bags — diapers, blankets, bottles, the small mountain of things she’d somehow managed t
