Life does not always go the way we want. Sometimes, things happen that we have no control over—like this moment right now.
Speaking to someone else's mother as though she were her own daughter.
And now, being asked if she missed them.
How could she miss people she didn't even know, people she had never spoken to?
How could she miss a mother when she never had one?
But…
"Yes," she said softly. "I do."
She hesitated before continuing, the word catching at the edge of her tongue. "I miss you… Mum, I miss Dad too."
"That's my big baby," Juliana teased.
Raya forced a little laugh, though her throat was closing, her vision blurring.
Juliana's warmth was a weight she hadn't expected—gentle and terrifying all at once. She wasn't just pretending anymore. She was tasting a life she had never known. A mother. A soft voice on the phone. Someone who noticed when she was quiet.
