Moonbound Deception
Kaelnight
It wasn’t a command—more like an invitation rooted in deep concern.
I didn’t argue. My legs had been screaming in exhaustion for hours. I pulled the chair out—it scraped quietly against the wooden floor—and sat down. Something in me, maybe for the first time in days, felt like I was allowed to lay down my burdens, if only for tonight.
The soup was simple. Soft-boiled pieces of chicken, baby potatoes, carrots, and slivers of celery that hadn’t yet wilted. The aroma of broth filled my nose like a memory from childhood. Warm. Familiar. The hunger I’d buried beneath my worry slowly rose to the surface. I gripped the spoon with fingers still cold—my skin shivered slightly from a body temperature not yet fully restored. When the first spoonful touched my tongue, the broth’s salty, savory flavor spread across my mouth.