Maya's POV
#FlashBacks.#
“Mom, when is Aliya coming for summer?” I’d asked, bouncing my knee ’til the chair squeaked. I was nine, maybe ten...little girl energy and big hopes. Mama smiled, pride soft on her face. “She’ll be back today, baby. She’ll be back.”
Then the phone rang.
The voice on the other end was brittle, clipped...not one of those voices you hear every day.
“We need you at the hospital right now.” Mama dropped the phone like it burned her. Her legs moved before her brain did. She scooped me up, slammed the car door, and drove like the road was on fire.
“Mama, slow down!” I yelled, tiny fists against her shoulders. But she didn’t slow. She pressed the pedal like time itself was bleeding out.
And then... headlights. Too close, too fast.
“Mommmmmm!” I screamed, the
