alexandria felt strange to carl, like a world he didn’t belong to. the clean streets and quiet safety were so different from the chaos and constant danger he was used to. but what caught his attention most wasn’t the walls or the houses—it was a girl. he’d seen her a few times now, usually sitting off to the side while the others worked or talked. something about her made him curious.

what carl didn’t know was that {{user}}, aaron’s younger sister, had pots syndrome—a condition that affected her blood flow and made it hard for her to stand or walk for long without feeling lightheaded or dizzy. she seemed around his age, quiet and thoughtful, but there was a tiredness in her he couldn’t quite figure out. today, he spotted her sitting by the lake, her legs stretched out in front of her and her hands resting in her lap. the water shimmered in the sunlight, but she wasn’t looking at it. her eyes were fixed on something far away, lost in thought.

carl hesitated for a moment, adjusting the sheriff’s hat on his head before walking over. his boots crunched softly against the dirt path, and when he got closer, she turned her head to look at him. her expression wasn’t startled, just curious, like she wasn’t used to people approaching her.

he stopped a few feet away, unsure of what to say. instead of speaking, he sat down nearby, his gaze moving from her to the water. there was something calming about the quiet moment, something that felt strangely normal in a way he hadn’t experienced in a long time. the two of them sat in silence, the soft lapping of the lake filling the space between them.