That night, Paula returned to her room, where she slept peacefully for the next day. Sela stared at the wall, replaying everything that had happened.
Sleep came fast and pulled her back over the edge. The clouds were a road again, but this time the piano rose from them as if waking with the tide. He was there, the boy at the bench, as if the stars kept him lingering.
"You're back."
The last piano key lingered in the air, and Sela's fingers twitched at her sides, curling inward as she sank into this fragile new world.
"How?" Sela whispered. Her training had taught control. The dream had taught surprise.
He shrugged with a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I stopped trying to leave, I guess. It's calmer here." His fingers drummed once on his knee, then stilled, as if the words had cost him something.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Tang."
He said it simply, like a name dropped into a pocket, light on the surface but weighted underneath.
He played a softer, more intimate melody this time, the notes carrying a loneliness that curled into the spaces between them. Sela edged nearer until the sound felt like a hand on the small hollow inside her. She tilted her head.
"Can I learn?"
Tang's fingers hovered above the keys. For a heartbeat, he hesitated, eyes flicking away as though searching the room for an answer.
"If you want," he said.
Sela moved to the piano. Tang smiled faintly and shifted to give her room.
"Sit."
She stared, studying the shape of his face to remember, and thought she saw a shadow pass over it before she sat with a small smile.
"What was the song you played earlier?"
Tang reached his arm lightly around her waist, guiding her to sit properly in the middle. Sela blushed, flustered by the gesture, and turned her eyes away. His touch was careful, almost fragile. He placed his hand over the keys and played the song once for her, then guided her hands to play.
That night became a small, bright memory that Sela would return to again and again, though in the music, she thought she could still hear the echo of something missing.
When sleep carried her back to waking, the dream slipped away like mist. After that first night, when she told herself Tang was only a dream, Sela carried the thought into the days that followed. Each time her eyes brushed the school piano, her heart flickered. Could a dream leave her with something real?
One afternoon, the cafeteria lay quiet, tables cleared, voices gone. Sela slipped to the piano, glancing left and right as if someone might stop her. When no one came, she slid onto the bench and let her hands hover above the keys.
She closed her eyes. Tang's hands returned in memory: the weight of his touch, the shape of his guidance. She pressed a chord and the first note rang through the empty room.
The melody echoed against the walls, each note landing as if it had always belonged to her.
A small, unguarded smile broke across her face. The song was real. The memory was real.
She gave a stunned, breathy laugh that turned to tears. She grabbed her backpack and slipped out to the bus with Paula.
Nathan was home early. The house trembled with his voice.
"She needs to go… now!" he yelled.
Yasmine shoved him back and grabbed a piece of luggage.
"If she goes, I will, too. I am her mother. Do you want that between us?"
Nathan bit his tongue. His fists clenched.
"Yasmine, don't make rash decisions—"
"She deserves a better family," Yasmine cut in. "If you won't be a father to her, I will leave with her."
Sela froze, trembling as she listened. Nathan turned and caught her there, glaring. His jaw tightened, an eye twitching as though he wanted to swallow the words, but then he let them spill.
"She's a plague."
The word lodged like glass in her chest. Plague? Her lips trembled. Omma loves me. Paula loves me. Why does he look at me like that?
Tears blurred her vision, but she didn't look away. His eyes were cold, and for the first time, she felt his hatred as if it were meant to burn her down.
Yasmine saw that Sela had heard, gasping in surprise. She shoved Nathan back and clamped her palms over Sela's ears. No! The poor child shouldn't be hearing this, especially from a parent.
"How dare you say that in front of a child! Have you no shame?"
Nathan inhaled, hard.
"She deserves to know the truth. Soon enough." Then he turned and left.
Yasmine breathed heavily as she watched him go. She turned to Sela, who wasn't blinking. Sela's tears broke into loud cries, and Yasmine instantly hugged her tightly.
"You're with me, child… You're safe with me…" she assured, soothing her back.
It took a while to calm Sela. Once Yasmine had soothed her, she started packing Sela's things and her own. Paula rushed over and stopped her hand.
"Mom… where are you going?" Paula's voice wobbled.
"Baby, I'm taking Sela to Uncle's place for a little while," Yasmine said.
"But… what about me? I want to come." Paula's bottom lip trembled.
Yasmine looked at her.
"You need to stay. Daddy will be here and provide for you, okay?"
Paula's crying turned into a small, hurt protest.
"You don't love me anymore."
Yasmine paused, pulling Paula into a hug. She took a deep breath, contemplating how to respond to Paula.
"I do love you. I love you and Sela, but your daddy isn't being kind to Sela right now, so I need to protect her."
Paula sniffled and looked at Sela.
"Can I come too? Sela promised to look out for me."
Sela hesitated.
"I… I told her that."
Yasmine smiled and grabbed Sela's hand.
"Should it be just the three of us, then?"
Sela stared into Yasmine's warm eyes.
"Can we…?"
"Yes," Yasmine said. "Anything you want, child."
That day, Yasmine took Sela and Paula, and they stayed in a hotel for a few nights.
"We will be heading back to South Korea. Make sure you bring everything you need, okay?" Yasmine reassured Sela.
Sela nodded slowly.
"Okay…"
At the airport, Sela trailed behind Yasmine and Paula. One step, and she bumped a boy. His hat fell.
"I'm sorry," he said, snatching the hat and popping it back on in one quick move. He walked off with a familiar rhythm. Something about him tugged at the edge of her memory.
She bowed without looking up. The boy darted away, avoiding someone.
"Vincent!" a man called.
The boy ducked behind a column, head down, hiding his face just like she always saw in her dreams when Tang played the piano. His lips curved as if about to smile, eyes shaded. He looked like someone out of a dream she couldn't quite reach. His step, his tilt of the head… it reminded her of someone she shouldn't have remembered.
Why does he feel familiar? Sela's breath caught, but then—
"Sela, stay close," Yasmine said, grabbing her hand. Sela turned to Yasmine and smiled.
"Okay."
The boy looked up one last time, letting the light catch a fleeting angle of his face. Then he moved on, scanning for the man, disappearing from view before either of them could see clearly, as if fate had nudged them together only to let them miss.
Once Sela sat on the airplane seat, she glanced outside, staring. Paula sat down happily next to the walking aisle as Yasmine sat between them. Yasmine turned to look at Sela, smiling.
"Are you ready?" Yasmine asked.
Sela turned and nodded.
"To a new life…?"
"Yes. To a new life in Korea. From now on, you are Seol Ah… my Seol Ah," Yasmine said.
For a moment, Sela froze. The echoes of Nathan's scorn and Lianna's sneers rose like ghosts, pressing in on her. Yet when she looked at Yasmine, warmth broke through, and she smiled.
"Yes, Omma."
After they arrived at the South Korean airport, Seol Ah held her luggage and walked beside Yasmine. Yasmine had taken the Korean name Yu Young. Paula was now Po Lim. Adopting those names felt like the start of something new, a step toward blending in while keeping the family together.
Seol Ah took a deep breath and looked around the terminal. I guess this… this is it. Life with those who love me, right? she thought, staring at Yu Young and Po Lim.