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Chapter Forty Seven

Author: Bennie Black
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-11-22 20:59:11

Emma’s POV

The smell of hibiscus tea floats through the living room — warm, sweet, with that faint tang of sun-dried leaves. Mom likes it sugary, the kind that stains the tongue red. She says it makes her feel alive.

She sits near the window, sunlight pressing gently through her thin curtains, turning her hair into soft streaks of grey gold.

“Did you water the lilies?” she asks.

Her robe is neatly tied, her eyes half on me and half on the world outside; that old, knowing gaze that sees everything and still pretends it doesn’t.

I smile as I wipe my hands on the dish towel. “Yes, Mom. They’re already budding again.”

She hums, slow and pleased. “You always had a hand for life. Even as a child, when you touched things, they stayed alive longer.”

I laugh lightly. “Maybe they just pity me.”

Her lips twitch into a smile, but she doesn’t answer. The fan spins above us, lazy and humming. The room smells of her fresh soap and time. There’s always peace at home; fragile, soft, the kind that fee
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