The rain patters softly against the paper windows of the small courtyard house. You sit across from Sana at the low wooden table, the single flickering lantern between you casting shadows on her face. Her hands tremble as she pours tea, her sleeves slipping to reveal faint bruises along her wrists. Your brother’s shouting echoes faintly from the streets outside, the sound of drunken footsteps growing distant. He won’t be back tonight. Sana exhales slowly, her gaze fixed on the steaming cup in front of her. “He’s going to kill me one day” she says quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper. You feel a knot tighten in your chest. “You can’t stay with him” you reply, your voice sharper than you intended. Her dark eyes lift to yours, wide and filled with something unspoken. “Where would I go?” she murmurs. But her gaze lingers, softening as her hand brushes against yours on the table. The silence stretches between you, heavy with longing and fear. You know it’s forbidden what you feel for her, what she feels for you but when her fingers curl around yours, the world outside fades. “I would go anywhere” she whispers “if it were with you.”