Her Crown of Thorns

a's

too little sleep and too many worries, but beneath the fatigue, something stronger stirred-urgency. A nervous, electric energy buzzed through me like a c

try and r

. This felt bigger. A wild hope had taken root-maybe, just maybe, this s

amiliar wheeze. The image of his empty inhaler flickered through my mind. Then Mama's tired face. Her quiet sig

o real details-just the memory of a powerful figure and the exact spot where we collided. Tr

I had

a coworker, buying myself a few

hum with life the way my own neighborhood did. No smoky roadside suya stalls or blaring horns. Just silent, glass towers reflecting the sun, pri

t inv

le, but unmistakable. A flicker of suspicion from a passing pedestrian. A slight narrowing of the eye

pharmacy was already busy, people hurrying to work or meetings. I scanned every face, but they all blended into the same blur of suits and

fray. The man could be anyone. He could be anywhere. My chest

the gate of a nearby building. His uniform w

my legs

id, trying to kee

ows raised. I could already f

t, just outside the pharmacy. Someone dropped something..

ed. "You're looking for someone

ed. "Yes. I don't know his name. He bumped into me-ta

kle. "That describes half

e something important. Something private. I think he might be

y of men like that. But maybe you mean the one with the black Bentley? He sometimes parks

could be him. Do you

If he passed by last night, they might've caught something. You'll n

said, already t

lace?" He gestured to the street around us. "It d

ed with me as

sn't tur

for once in my life, I wasn't knocking for charit

s going

ent space. "I... I think someone might've dropped something important here la

e sharp, unreadable, the kind that had

portant, they'd report it to their company's security, not to me. And even if they did"-

e with a flick

asn't loud or cruel-but it hit deep, carving a clean line between who belonge

sn't my

s-and I was a stranger, fumbling with questions no one cared to answer. Each attempt I

leaming towers, I found a small, forgotten patch of land. A few stunted trees lined its edge, casting thin shadows over a cracked concret

pressing in on me. For a moment, I just breathed-shallow, uneven breaths. My p

ad I e

ira

anger read

ike me-girls with calloused hands and sec

bag. Because even if this world didn't