LILITH

After lunch at Dean’s place, he drove me to a mall just a short distance from the community.

We spent hours drifting from one store to the next, piling our arms with anything that caught my eye—even things I didn’t strictly need. But that didn’t matter.

For the first time, I'd be decorating my personal space, and I could take my time making it feel like home.

Bedsheets. Throw blankets. Fragrant candles. Potted succulents I wasn't even sure I could keep alive.

A part of me knew I was going overboard, but after years of having no say over even the tiniest details of my life, choosing my own...