Alexandra didn't sleep that night.
The rain had stopped long ago, but the silence remained—thick, heavy, pressing against her chest. It was the same silence she remembered from years ago, the kind that waited with you and never answered back.
She had been so small then.
The apartment had felt too big without Alicia's voice filling it. Alexandra had sat by the door, knees pulled close to her chest, staring at the handle as if it might turn on its own.
Footsteps.
Her heart leapt.
But they passed by.
She waited anyway.
Alicia always came back. Even when she was tired. Even when her hands shook from exhaustion. She always smiled and said, "I'm here."
That night, Alexandra replayed that smile again and again.
Soon never came.
The sun rose, cold and indifferent, and the door never opened.
No one explained anything to her.
No one told her why waiting hurt so much.
And that was how Alexandra learned that sometimes, people disappear—
and the world keeps moving as if nothing happened.
She blinked, pulling herself back to the present.
Morning light filtered through the curtains. Mira and Luna were already awake, whispering to each other as they got dressed for school. Their laughter was soft, innocent.
Alexandra watched them for a moment, steadying her breath.
She would not let them feel that emptiness.
She would not let them wait.
After walking them to school, she turned to leave when a teacher called out.
"Mrs. Alexandra?"
Her steps slowed.
"The school fees," the teacher said gently. "Today is the deadline."
Alexandra nodded without hesitation. "I'll take care of it."
She said it calmly, like it was easy.
It wasn't.
Today was payday.
She went straight from the school to work, finishing her shift with aching feet and tired hands. When the money finally rested in her palm, she didn't count it twice. She already knew where it would go.
Back at the school office, she paid every last fee.
As she turned to leave, she heard the whispers.
"That woman…"
"She's raising them alone, right?"
"She never complains."
"She's stronger than she looks."
Alexandra didn't turn back.
Strength wasn't something she felt.
It was something she had learned to wear.
Outside the school gate, she paused for a moment, fingers tightening around her bag. The past tugged at her again—the closed door, the beginning of her mysterious life the beginning of the heavy weight lying on her shoulder
She straightened her shoulders.
For Mira.
For Luna.
And for the girl she once was—still sitting by that door, in the cold weather trembling with goosebumps .
Some truths were buried deep.
And when they surfaced…
they would change everything.