Chapter 37: Troubled minds
Liana Neri walked aimlessly down the bustling city street, her footsteps light, almost hesitant, as if she were trying not to exist. The world moved around her with purpose—cars honked, heels clacked on pavement, conversations buzzed in the air—but none of it seemed to touch her.
Today, she was supposed to pick up her son from kindergarten. But when she arrived, a teacher informed her that his grandmother had already collected him.
She didn't ask for more details. There was no point.
Her gaze drifted to the roadside flower beds, once carefully tended with seasonal blooms. Now they were wilted, a muted canvas of browns and greys. Even the storefront signs, designed to dazzle and entice, looked faded in her eyes. The people passing by were just as colorless—faceless figures moving with a rhythm she no longer understood.
Her world had long since lost its vibrancy.
At the crosswalk, she paused, waiting for the light to change, her mind far from the present. When her phone buzzed in her coat pocket, she answered without thinking, her voice hollow.
"Hello?"
"Why didn't you pick up Sean today?" The voice on the other end was cold, clipped, and unmistakably irritated.
Liana's lips curled into a tired, bitter smile. "Is that what your mother told you?"
A sharp exhale came through the speaker, laced with exasperation. "Lian, stop causing problems. If she hadn't gone, Sean would've been waiting for who knows how long. Where are you?"
Problems. Always problems. Always her fault.