The first sound Sera always heard when she opened her eyes these past mornings was the rhythm of the waves. They hit the cliffs below her window, gentle but unrelenting, and carried that salt-soaked lullaby she had slowly grown used to. At first, the ocean had terrified her. It was too big, too endless. It reminded her of how far she was from everything she knew, her father, and Amara, her home.
Now, the ocean had become part of the strange dream she lived in. A dream that never seemed to end.
The little girl stirred in the oversized bed, tangled in soft white sheets. Her pajamas were wrinkled, the ones with little stars printed across the sleeves. She rubbed her eyes with a small fist, her dark lashes fluttering as sunlight slipped between the thin curtains.
She sat up and pulled her k
