Is this.. hope?

Melody.

The parchment in my hands felt heavier than it should. The paper was rough, its edges curling slightly from being handled so often and travel. I stared at it for a long time, the words still a blur, the symbols dancing across the page like they didn't belong in the world I had lived in for so long. My fingers trembled, holding the edge too tightly as if it might slip through my hands and vanish like so many precious things in my life.

Rowan had left me alone, and for a moment, I almost wished he hadn't. I needed time to process this. To think. He was already gone, leaving me with a decision I didn't want to make.

My heart beat harder, faster, as my eyes skimmed the parchment again, a fresh wave of confusion washing over me. Equal rights. Equal protection. It felt unreal. I had never considered such things for myself, never thought I would see anything like this for my kind.