Flashback

That summer would forever be marked in Lilith’s mind as the season her daughter first brought the unexpected home.

She remembered the conversation as if it had been yesterday-their eldest, Aria, sitting across from her at the kitchen table, sunlight streaming through the curtain gaps. Aria’s hands had twisted in her lap, a nervous gesture she’d inherited from Lilith, though neither would admit it.

“Mom, I have a favor to ask,” Aria had begun, eyes darting to the floor.

“It’s about the break. I… I was thinking about bringing a friend home with me. They don't really have anywhere else to go for the summer, and I just thought… well, I thought they could stay with us.”

Silence had stretched between them, weighted with years of unspoken words and guarded hearts. Lilith had studied her coffee, unreadable as always. Memories of her own past, of coming to her mother with news that had changed everything, surfaced unbidden. But Aria wasn’t the same as her. She was brave in a way Lilith had never allowed herself to be.

“Sure,” Lilith had finally said, cool and collected. “That’s fine.”

Present Time

Now, standing on the porch as the car pulled into the driveway, Lilith felt the air shift—like the moment before a summer storm, all charged stillness and waiting. The old screen door creaked behind her as she stepped forward, squinting into the late afternoon light. Aria climbed out first, her expression unreadable, but her posture gave her away: a slight stiffness in the shoulders, the kind that came with wanting everything to go perfectly.