The airport was bright and cold.
Martha sat by a window with a paper cup of coffee, watching planes crawl across the tarmac. Her suitcase stood at her feet, her backpack against her leg.
“Flight 732 to Nairobi will begin boarding in forty minutes," the speaker announced.
She checked the number on her ticket, then slipped it back into her passport.
Her phone lay screen-down on the armrest.
For once, it was quiet.
No calls from Melissa. No long messages from Patrick. No relatives asking how she could be so cruel.
Just the low hum of the terminal and the occasional clatter of wheels on tile.
Her phone buzzed.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
She stared at it for a second, then picked up.
“Hello?"
“Martha."
Patrick.
Her fingers tightened on the coffee cup.
“What do you want?" she asked.
His voi
