Familiar Faces

Natalie~

The night carried a chill, but not the bone-deep kind—just enough to make me pull my arms tighter around myself. I moved through the bustling streets, my breath rising in soft, ghostly swirls. City lights smeared like watercolor through the haze of unshed tears, and the world around me—voices, laughter, life—faded into nothing more than a distant hum.

I didn't care where I was going. I didn't care that my feet ached from walking. I didn't care about anything at all.

I tilted my head toward the sky, the stars barely visible through the haze of city lights. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" My voice cracked as I spoke, barely louder than a whisper. But I knew the goddess could hear me. She always could.

"Was my father's crime so horrible that I have to pay for it until the day I die?" I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "Is that it? Is that why you insist on punishing me?"