A whisper.

“Help me.”

Naomi froze.

She pulled back just enough to look at her face.

The girl’s lips were parted. Her eyes pleading.

She had spoken.

After three years of silence.

A Goodbye That Felt Like a Beginning

Jonathan lifted his daughter quickly, carefully, his voice unsteady.

“We need to go,” he said. “Thank you. Truly.”

They left moments later, swallowed by the rain. The black car disappeared into the night, leaving Naomi standing still, her heart pounding with words that refused to fade.

Help me.

That night, Naomi couldn’t sleep.

She cleaned. Closed the diner. Walked home under a pale sky.