Jessica hadn't expected the world to feel so ordinary.
Three days had passed since she and Ellie walked out of the hospital, yet life
outside had resumed its familiar rhythm as if nothing had changed. The city
still hummed with quiet routines — morning traffic, office lights flickering on
before dawn, people moving with the same sleepy determination towards
another work day.
Jessica stood in the kitchen of her small apartment, staring out the window
as rain slid down the glass.
Ellie sat at the table behind her, coloring carefully inside the lines of a
picture book Jessica had picked up the day before.
"Jess?" Ellie said without looking up.
"Yeah?"
"Do kids still go to school?"
Jessica smiled faintly.
"Yeah. That hasn't changed."
Ellie nodded thoughtfully.
"Good. I like s
