Truth be told, I wasn’t really listening to her story.
The words floated around me, fragments of a tale about how she had discovered this place about a year ago, right when she was struggling with a competition. She’d told me she placed second, narrowly missing the win, and on her way back, she had stumbled upon a quiet little café nestled near the sprawling fields. It had been nothing more than an empty lot then, a forgotten patch of earth shadowed by the tall grass and wildflowers, but she had explored it, breathed life into it, and claimed it as her own sanctuary.
“It was just an empty lot,” she murmured softly, almost like a secret slipping out, “but I turned it into my secret place. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.” She tilted her head slightly, waiting for m
