water that had so captivated me during my first visit.
Standing at the end of that dock in the golden afternoon light, I felt the salt-tinged breeze against my face and marveled at how different my life had become in just one month.
The constant tension I’d carried in my shoulders for years had eased.
The reflexive checking of my phone for messages from Amber had diminished.
The habit of considering others’ needs before my own had begun to loosen its grip.
My phone chimed with a text—not from Amber,
