When I found the town, it looked half asleep. A cluster of shabby houses with sagging roofs and grayed paint that lean into the wind. The narrow, cracked road leading in was littered with fragments of paper, old bottles, and unfinished stories.
At the main street's edge, I came to a stop. My feet ached. I had a raw throat. Since, I hadn't eaten. I couldn't even remember when. Even though the ocean was still miles away, the entire place had the smell of dust and sea salt.
A woman was smoking outside a shop. She looked at me like I didn’t belong here. Her voice broke the silence just as I was about to turn around.
“You lost, girl?”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
She flicked the ash from her cigarette, eyes narrowing. “You from the fire?”
My heart stuttered. “You heard about it?”
S
