* Jana *
The days at Magnolia felt like they belonged to another lifetime. I woke to the hush of waves brushing the shore, to curtains swaying with the sea breeze, to sunlight pouring in softer than the city ever allowed. For the first time in years, my alarm wasn't a phone buzzing on the nightstand but birds calling outside the balcony.
I thought I would rest here, rest my mind, rest my heart, but the stillness only sharpened the ache. Every corner of this resort carried my mother's shadow. The reception desk where she used to smile, the path leading down to the garden where she liked to walk barefoot, the kitchen where her laughter once rang out when the chefs teased her about sneaking bread rolls.
I remembered helping her wipe tables here, my hands sticky with polish, her voice telli
