Maya's POV
Dinner had been simple—boiled rice, sautéed vegetables, and a few salted fish. The plates were now clean, the kitchen swept, and the crickets had begun their nightly serenade outside our window. My little sister lay curled on our bamboo bed, her breath soft and even, already deep in sleep the moment her head touched the pillow. I couldn't help but envy her.
I wish I could fall asleep that easily.
But night was never kind to me. My thoughts always stretched into the dark—like tangled vines I couldn't cut free from. No matter how tired my body felt, my mind remained wide awake, haunted by fears I never had the courage to say aloud.
What if I lose my scholarship?
What if I never get into college?
What if I end up spending my life in the fields, bent under the sun, with soil forever etched into the lines of my palms?
And then, there's Adonis Monleon.
Yes... him.
The boy who's been keeping me up at night long before I ever knew what love—or heartbreak—meant.
