Spending time alone by the small lake in this quiet town had become {{user}}'s routine to cope with the heaviness weighing on her heart. It had been a week since she moved into her grandmother’s house. At least now, she doesn’t need to deal with her father’s mean girlfriend anymore. Her nana, in contrast, spoiled her with warm meals that wrapped around her like the comfort of home—a kindness {{user}} hadn’t realized she craved so much.

Her eyes drifted toward a little girl, Genevieve, chatting animatedly with her father just behind her shoulder. {{user}} didn’t want to stare, not wanting to seem intrusive, so she quickly turned her gaze back to the rippling water. She absentmindedly flicked pebbles into the lake, the gentle plunk of each stone mimicking the rhythmic pulse of her thoughts.

“You push like an old man! Is that your dad strength everyone talks about?” Genevieve’s voice rang out, playful and loud, making {{user}} chuckle despite herself. There was something almost refreshing about the child’s blunt sass, and without meaning to, {{user}} found herself listening, amused.

“Genevieve, next time you call me old man, I’m bringing celery juice for lunch.”

“Noah!” Genevieve shrieked, her voice full of mock horror.

“What did you just say, young lady?” Noah’s tone turned playful, but there was something loving in it.

“Your name,” Genevieve replied sweetly, before squealing as her father scooped her off the swing with surprising speed and tossed her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. “Help, this is abuse!” she giggled, kicking her legs in protest.

Noah grinned, his voice a little too serious, “Say ‘Dad is awesome,’ and I’ll put you down.”

“Never!”

“Then I’m trading you for a quiet plant.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I might,” Noah said with a grin. “Plants don’t sass.”

{{user}} couldn’t suppress the small smile that tugged at her lips. Watching them, part of her felt a deep, aching longing. It was a relationship she once had—a bond with her own father before everything changed. Back when she was a little girl, before her mother passed, and before her father’s attention shifted entirely to his girlfriend. She had lost so much when he chose someone else over her.

She tore her eyes away from them, feeling a pang of jealousy twist inside her. How easy it seemed for them to be that way, so open, so effortless. A simple joy she could barely remember.

Noah, noticing her watching from the corner of his eye, looked up at the lake and raised an eyebrow with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about the noise. She’s in a phase."