Finding Fullness in Quiet

d by his large univ

noon sun cut a

eside him, her hand res

ng my research findings, the

ed against my ribs, a strange, borrowed

smooth, the same voice that had guid

n interesting ac

a small, knowing curve of her

ctoria, then back to me, a little cooler now, "Vic

ords

this vibrant, borrowed emotional life, sudd

sn't th

e Phoenix Initiati

to choose Oakh

rent thought, let alone a

ge. The Phoen

unrecoverable. Mission f

mach d

lection House. That meant

, the intense love I felt for Alist

ed existence of my "Quiet Heart" was terr

ed at something worse, a

ck, years ago, to

ated, wrapped in m

, just Sarah, the girl

dition, a rare neurological quirk th

ing highs or crushing

e concepts I understood intellectual

ents w

would say, her brow furrowed with con

their worry was a con

anything that promi

he Phoenix

ive handlers, a promise

could "unlock"

tal neuro-stimulant patc

orary access to a full

condition: I had to make a designated "high-v

me to a "place of authentic connection" – my

rismatic, ambitious, a rising star in socio

nheritance. It wa

e to feel, I