Chapter 3 Lost

The steam curled upward like memories, soft and unsummoned.

A narrow breakfast stall breathed quietly beneath the deep blue of early dawn.

The city was just beginning to stir. Streetlights blinked in and out.

The sky, tinged with moisture, was turning blue—still carrying a trace of night.

Inside the stall, a woman in her fifties moved with habitual care.

She placed bottles o......