Sienna’s POV

The night sky had just settled when we arrived at the small restaurant tucked into a quiet corner of the city. The ce bwasn’t /bbusy–only two or three tables were upied in distant corners. The rest remained empty, bathed in the soft glow of amber pendant lights hanging gently from the wooden ceiling. We chose a table outside, beneath the open skyb, /beven though tonight, not even the moon cared to show itself.

I leaned back against the chair, folding my arms across my stomachb, /band tilted my head up. My gaze pierced the darkness above, toward a sky so still and ck. No stars. No moon. Just an endless bvoid/b–eerily familiar, like a mirror to the emptiness inside me.

The sky tonight felt like a reflection of my soul.

It wasn’t long before Liliana returned from inside, bncing two trays of food. The bscent /bof butter band /bsautéed onions followed her, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift a spoon.

She ced our orders down carefully, then sat across bfrom /bme, raising an eyebrow when she noticed I was still staring upward.

“What are you looking at, Sienna?” she asked gently, breaking the silence that had followed us all the way here.

I didn’t answer right away. I just inhaled slowly, holding back the weight that still pressed down on my chest. Then I replied, quietly, “The sky is so dark tonight. Just like my heart.”

I gave a smallugh–not because it was funny, but because… wasn’t that just my lifetely? ck. Empty. Cold.

But before bI /bcould sink again into that silence, a sudden light flickered right in front of my eyes.

I turned quickly–and there she was. Liliana was pointing her phone shlight straight at my face. Her expression was serious, but her beyes /bheld that familiar, warm smile.

“bI /bcan light up your heart if you let me,” she said yfully.

I couldn’t help but smile. Even when I felt like I had fallen too deep, bLiliana /balways found a way to pull me up–even if it was just an inch. She wasn’t the sun, or the moon with all its drama. She was more like a little shlight in this overwhelming darkness.

A small light… but enough to make me feel less alone.

I chuckled softly, this time not out of bitterness. “You’re crazy,” I murmured, shaking my head, though my smile lingered.

“Crazy for still showing up for you,” she replied quickly. “And I always will, bSienna/bb. /bEven if you fall deeper, I’ll climb down to find byou/b.

I turned my eyes from her phone light to her face. Liliana. The first person who came to the hospital after my ident. The first person who read my manuscript before anyone else. And the first person who believed I was worth fighting for long after I stopped believing it myself.

“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t think I could’ve made it this far without you.”

–

Liliana just shrugged. “You could. And you will. But tonight… just rest. Eat. Talk Laugh, if you can. Let their world stay over there, and let you be here–just being yourself.”

I stared at her for a long moment, then shifted my gaze to the bfood /bin front of us. Maybe I didn’t have a moon. Or stars.

But tonight, I had a real light. And bthat /bwas enough.

Liliana was absentmindedly stirring her drink with a straw when she suddenly asked, eyes still averted–almost as if trying to hide the seriousness behind her casual tone.

“By the way… does Liam or Noah know you’re leaving in four bdays/b?”