When Sara awoke the following morning, the world seemed… different. Not set. Not
instantaneously healed. Just lighter, as if someone had gently hoisted a weight she had been
carrying so long she had forgotten what her shoulders felt like without it. Staring at the ceiling,
she lay there a second listening. Birds outside her window were actually singing—real ones, not
simply in her head. She pulled the curtains open, padded across the chilly floor, and threw the
covers back. Warm and golden, sunlight flooded the small flat like it was brand new.
Under her breath she chuckled. All correct, world. Message delivered.
She showered quickly; the warm water felt like a reset button. She grabbed the first thing that felt
right—a soft pink Korean-style dress with lace at the waist and those flowing sleeves that moved
when she walked—after coffee and a piece of toast she couldn't even taste because she was too
wired. She turned toward herself in the mirror, really looked, and for once did not immediately
look away.
Today was like starting over.
The sun was still high by the time she saw Sophie following their last class; the campus
walkways were packed with students laughing and grumbling about exams. Sophie stopped still
in her tracks one glance at her.
"Wow," Sophie exclaimed, eyes wide. "You appear... quiet. Like, very peaceful. What transpired?
Did you win something or the lottery?
Sara smiled, the type that reached her eyes without her needing to strain. "Every fear I had about
the future? Gone. Just… poof. I sense that I might actually be able to breathe once more.”
Sophie gripped her arm and squeezed; she nearly leaped. “At last you escaped from the
concealed risk jail you had been living in! How? Every last detail, please.”
Sara paused half a second before resolving to keep it straightforward. Even with Sophie, some
things still seemed too personal.
She remarked, her tone light, "I found a real friend."
Sophie's face lit like Christmas morning. "Oh! my god, my girl found a friend finally!" She
started half-laughing, dragging Sara down the route with her arm strung over Sara's. Loud and
, she shouted to no one in particular, "Wait—guys, look at this!" "Sara's buddy!"
Sara laughed, her voice clear and authentic, a little corroded. Sophie leaned in nearer and spoke
in a teasing whisper. "Come on, spew." Which lucky person is this? You cannot just drop ‘I
found a true friend’ and subsequently went silent on me.”
Sara laughed but she did not share the whole truth. Rather she presented a version that felt
secure.
"Yesterday I received this random wrong-number call. Some man believed I was his Julie, his
girlfriend. He was begging her not to remain furious, apologizing as though his life depended on
it—said he forgot a promise, and had to help his little sister with homework. Kept stating, 'I'm
nothing without you; I love you to the moon and back.' He became all flustered and hung up
when I informed him he was at the incorrect number.”
She shrugged, but her voice weakened. "It was so little but it knocked me. Not every man is
intent on harming someone. Some good ones remain still. Excellent apples in the barrel, you
know?”
Sophie stopped walking and hugged Sara firmly right there on the path. “Oh, sweetheart. Finally,
You finally broke through the barrel.” She withdrew, eyes glistering. “Sara, the world abounds
with beauty. You only needed to let yourself see it once again. Set the past where it belongs.”
Sara nodded, the knot in her chest coming apart even further. She did not tell Sophie the actual
friend had been a screen and a bunch of painstaking, patient words typed in the dark. For a little
bit longer, some secrets still had to remain her own.
But for the first time the worry no longer felt like a prison. It seemed as though a portal at last
began to creak open.
