The steady hum of engines had long been her lullaby — a constant whisper on the sleepless Air Force base, where planes and stars above never truly rested. Emma Morgan had lived her whole life under that sky—a constant backdrop to the order and chaos of military life.
Tonight was different. The base was quieter than she had ever known it, the absence of sound unsettling. Outside her window, the sprawling tarmac stretched endlessly, its emptiness a mirror to the hollow ache in her chest.
Her dad's voice still echoed in her mind: "It's for the best, Em. New opportunities, a fresh start."
She wanted to believe him, but the words felt hollow now. Just hours ago, she'd gone to break the news to her boyfriend, Jacob, thinking he'd comfort her. Instead, she'd found him in the back seat of his car with someone else.
The image was burned into her mind—his startled face, the other girl scrambling for her shirt, the disbelief that had turned into rage bubbling inside her. She turned straight on her heel and ran.
Now, alone in her room, her dad's optimism felt like an impossible dream. A fresh start? How could she even begin to start over when she wasn't sure who she was anymore?
Emma glanced at the half-packed suitcase on her bed, its contents spilling out like the pieces of a life she couldn't seem to hold together. She had been planning for prom, for college applications, for lazy weekends with friends at the diner. Not this. Not Wales.
Outside, a plane cut through the dark sky, its blinking lights fading into the distance. She imagined herself on board, soaring away to somewhere—anywhere—but where she was headed.
Her father called it "idyllic," this faraway village she couldn't even picture. But she wasn't sure if she was running toward something new, or just running away from the wreckage of what she'd lost.
Little did she know that her journey wouldn't end when she landed in Wales. It would only just begin.