Blaze trudged home after a grueling day at school, his stomach grumbling in protest. He hadn’t eaten lunch; the school food was barely edible, and he had been too late to pack his own. The cold breeze brushed against his face, but it did little to lift his spirits. His mind was a tangled mess of worries about his studies, each thought weighing heavily on him.
He huffed out a breath, ignoring the bustling streets of the city as he crossed the road on the red light and went to another street. The world turned hazy in his sight as he tried to fasten his pace, even songs couldn't lift his mood, right now.
As he walked, he noticed the old swing set in the nearby park. The sight of it brought a fleeting memory of simpler times, when life wasn’t dominated by expectations and deadlines. On a wh
