Page 17 of Sage Haven

But instead, there was a question gnawing at me.

Heavy.

Unanswered.

Who was she?

5

SAGE

Iclung to routinelike it was the only thing keeping me upright.

A rigid, self-imposed structure meant to keep the chaos at bay and my mind from unraveling thread by thread.

Every morning, I woke up at precisely six.

I walked the trails behind my apartment, pacing the same worn paths until my legs ached and the rhythm of my footsteps pounded some semblance of quiet into my skull.

I read one chapter of a book—fiction only. Nonfiction hit too close to home.

I clocked in atJava-dence, my corner café where I hid behind the espresso machine and memorized regulars’ orders to avoid actual conversations.

Dinner was the same most nights, whatever was on special at the local market.

Rest was elusive, especially with the constant night terrors, but I laid down anyway.

And then I did it all over again.

Some days, it worked, where the noise in my head dimmed to a low hum I could ignore. The tension in my muscles softened just enough tolet me move through the world without feeling like I was dragging chains behind me.

But then there were other days.

Days when the routine wasn’t enough.

When it felt like I was sprinting in place, stuck in a loop that pressed down on me like a vice I couldn’t slip free from.

On those days, I swore I could feel Sanele breathing down my neck.

And then everything changed.

Like the universe decided to flip the script and see what I’d do when someone else disrupted the cycle I’d clung to for dear life.

***

It was a morning like any other.

Gray sky.

Car parked in my usual space in front of my apartment building.

I was on autopilot, about to step out and start the routine all over again when something—or rather, someone—cut through the haze.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement.

A figure stepping out of the leasing office, the morning light catching in the tousled, bleach-blonde waves of her hair. She walked like she was carrying the warmth of summer with her, shoulders relaxed, head held high, the faint bounce of her steps completely unbothered by the world around her. She had an energy that couldn’t be ignored, like sunlight in motion, and I was the shadow watching her from behind the safety of a car window.

Before I could make sense of it, she was waving.