Sumaya's voice cracked mid-sentence, a tremor she couldn't suppress, as the sting of unshed tears threatened to overwhelm her.
"Do you know what it's like to fall and scrape your knee, only to watch the wound disappear seconds later while everyone else is still bleeding?" She scoffed bitterly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you know how much I've hidden this? How scared I've been that someone would notice?"
Avanaya's lips parted slightly, pain flashing unmistakably across her face. There was a tension in her posture now, as though she wanted to speak but didn't dare interrupt. Sumaya, however, wasn't finished.
"Did I ask for this?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. Each word carried the weight of her anguish, trembling as if under pressure. "Did I ever tell you that I wanted to be like this?"
And then, before she could stop it, the dam broke.
