*Sabrina*
Taxi horns blare through the din of the city, weaving beneath the chatter of pedestrians barking into phones and the ever-present wail of sirens slicing through the humid summer air. We step off the airport shuttle and into the gray smear of New York, the sky above thick with clouds that never seem to break. Around me, people move forward in a relentless tide, their eyes fixed ahead, their shoulders hunched with purpose.
I stand still for a moment, just long enough to become an obstacle, the kind people mutter about under their breath as they jostle past. The concrete beneath my feet is familiar, but it feels strangely hollow now, like a stage set.
I should feel comfort in this chaos. The noise, the energy, the sharp, unyielding rhythm of this city that always made me feel s
