The tears came in waves—deep, guttural, unstoppable. Mist clung to her skin, but the shivering wasn’t from the cold. Her mind spun through painful memories: her old apartment in New York, the silence after the divorce, the long days she spent rebuilding—and now this, losing Pablo, her last thread of peace.
Guilt hit like a hammer. If only she had stayed closer. If she hadn’t been sipping coffee instead of watching him. If only she had noticed the eagle and gotten Pablo inside on time. Each detail sharpened into another regret, stacking over her shoulders until she could barely breathe through the weight of it.