Claire walked hurriedly toward Zara’s place, guilt weighing heavily on her chest. Her heart pounded with every step.
How am I even going to face her?
How do I apologize after turning a deaf ear when she needed me most?
She sighed shakily, rehearsing apologies in her head… but then she noticed something strange ahead.
Smoke.
Thick, black smoke curling into the sky from the direction of Zara’s neighborhood.
Claire’s pace quickened. Then she stopped.
Her eyes widened.
Her heart dropped.
Zara’s house was on fire.
Or rather… what was left of it.
Everything was already burned to ashes.
Claire slapped a trembling hand over her mouth.
“Oh my God… what happened here!?”
She rushed to a woman passing by, panic trembling in her voice.
“Please what happened?
“The woman who stayed here
