I didn’t notice Mala watching me at first, I had been sitting at the kitchen table, staring into a mug of untouched tea that had gone cold hours ago. The steam had long since vanished, but I still kept my hands wrapped around it as if it could warm me. Outside, the streetlight buzzed faintly, casting a weak orange glow over the chipped blinds. Traffic murmured in the background, a sound I should have found comforting after weeks of ocean silence, but it only made me feel displaced like I was living inside someone else’s life.
“Ivana,” Mala said softly, her eyes staring at me with loving tenderness.
The sound of my name pulled me away from my thoughts. I glanced up, my eyes focusing on her slowly, as though she’d been far away. She stood at the counter, rinsing a mug, her dark hair tied i
