ted over one another. Lita moved through it all like a ghost, her

o make herself small. Invis

ead!" a baker called out, his v

after hitting her father. Her mother had taken to bed that same week, grief and illness intertwining until she coul

een, and she

t by touch alone. Three copper pieces. Enough for a loaf of day

rots?" she asked, her

ch," the vendor replied

omething, anything she could resell or trade. That's what she did now: bought lo

nto her cart, but she'd already paid for it and spent nearly everything she ha

d past her, taking th

ghteen or nineteen, with callused hands and an easy smile that seemed out of place in their gray, hun

he said, settling the sack into her ca

quickly, defensive.

e didn't waver. But that

ce made her pause. N

ou, she

, falling into step beside her

West

anced at the cart, then back at her. "Mi

t her arms already ached, and home was inde

she wh

an ease that made Lita feel both grateful and inadequate. The market sounds f

," he said

i

g the name. I've seen you at th

be. lita

most people understood in conversation. "Me too. Been wo

eeing him differently

rry, s

't I? He grinned. We're toughe

ettled over her like a blan

borhood, its glass shattered. Damian stopped, reaching int

abbed an extra loaf

read, still soft, the ki

t," she

half, offering her one

ime she had eaten something that wasn't stale or half-rotted. She

was watching her with somet

o the universe itself. "I mean that, Lita. I don't know what your story is yet, but

welcome. She'd cried all her tears six month

voice breaking. "You

your age, he replied simply. And because some of

reetlight, and for the first time in six months, Lita

the evening with a promise to see her tomorrow, Lita sat in the darkness of her room. Her mother's la

n's words. His promise.

arkness like a prayer, like a declaration of war ag

live like th

Not a hope

and endless struggle, something hard and bright had formed in her chest. Determination. Defianc

t. She would save her m

ouldn't d

beautiful complexity. Somewhere out there, Damian was probabl

there, the fut

eyes and let her

. Tomorrow, she will keep fighting. And

ough to let her sl