Chapter 36: Kai(2)
Kathlyn barely had time to catch her breath before the river dragged her again.
One moment, she was suspended in the black void heart racing, pulse thudding painfully in her ears and the next, the world snapped back into shape.
No warning.
No transition.
Just sudden, jarring reality.
She stumbled forward slightly, boots scuffing on something solid pavement again, but this time smoother, newer, with the faint sheen of recent rain.
She looked up.
A small city park spread out before her. She saw swings, a low fence, scattered benches, a sandbox half-dissolved by the weather. Bright posters clung to lampposts, the words unfamiliar, but the images easy to read: cartoon animals, bold dates, event times.
And at the center of it all...
A boy.
Kai.