Curiosity settled into her life the way light settled into a room.
Not all at once.
Not dramatically.
It arrived gradually, filling corners she hadn't realized were dim.
Aaliyah noticed it on a morning that felt indistinguishable from the ones before it, same light through the curtains, same quiet hum of the city waking. And yet, something felt newly available.
Not excitement.
Interest.
She lingered over breakfast longer than usual, reading a few pages of a book she'd picked up without intention weeks earlier. She didn't underline anything. Didn't mark passages for later.
She simply read.
When she closed the book, she didn't feel finished.
She felt engaged.
At the community center, the class had shifted subtly.
People greeted one another with familiarity now, not politeness, but recognition. They knew each other's rhythms. Who spoke early. Who needed time. Who listened best when they said nothing at all.
The facilitator opened the session with a simple invitation.
