Chapter 5: The Promise of Tomorrow

Zane and Ana used to dream of a future far away from everything. In the secluded corners of the school, where the world seemed to stand still, they talked about what they would do when they were older when time would no longer force them to stay in a place where they didn't belong.

"When I grow up, I'm going to buy a house in the middle of the forest," Zane would say with conviction, drawing in the dirt with a stick. "A house with a huge roof to watch the stars and a river nearby to fish."

"And will you live alone?" Ana asked, a mischievous smile on her lips—one that only Zane could bring out.

He shrugged, pretending not to care. "Well, I guess someone has to cook."

Ana frowned and lightly hit his arm. "Hey! I'm not going to be your cook."

"Then we'll cook together," he replied, laughing. "But it'll be our house, right? You and me, far from here, where no one can tell us what to do."

Ana liked that idea. In her mind, she imagined a home different from the one she had. One without screams in the night or doors slamming in anger. One where she could wake up with the sun warming her face, with Zane beside her—laughing, dreaming, living.

Sometimes, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to believe it was possible.

"We'll travel too," Zane once said, his eyes shining with excitement. "We'll go to places no one knows, explore mountains, see the ocean."

"The ocean?" Ana asked, wonder lacing her voice.

"Yeah. Have you never seen it?"

She shook her head.

"They say it's endless," Zane continued. "That the water never stops, and you can lose yourself in the sound of the waves."

"I want to see it," Ana whispered, clinging to that thought.

Zane gently took her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"We'll see it together," he promised. "Someday."

That someday became their greatest dream. On the hardest days, when Ana felt the weight of the world crushing her, she repeated those words to herself. Someday. Someday, everything will be different.

And even though, deep down, she knew that dreams didn't always come true, in those moments with Zane, she allowed herself to believe that maybe—just maybe—that future could be real.