Amara pov:
The evening air hit gently against my face.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgh2CAO9g4n
Cool. Still.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeHHkYlcVl
The streets were lit with soft yellow lights, and the hum of quiet city life drifted through.
People passed me.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBtFxTOHCM
Some in suits. Some in slippers.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6W1uZB9t8
Talking. Rushing. Existing.
I walked silently through it all.
The light from shop windows spilled across the footpath. Cars passed slowly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUV8YPr2CW
I crossed a street and turned a corner. The little bell of a bicycle rang somewhere behind me.
After a few more steps, I reached it—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxMaWqDGnE
The small restaurant on the corner. Warm light glowing from inside, glass door slightly fogged from the inside heat.
I pushed open the door.
The familiar scent of spices, soup, and dish soap hit me instantly.
"Hey, Amara," a voice called from behind the counter.
I smiled faintly. "Hi."
I hung my coat on the hook near the back door and pulled on the apron over my clothes.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaUH48ZMfi
It was stained a little—rice water, curry, maybe dish soap too.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NEw7BfsSa
But it was mine. My shift had started.
More than a waitress.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZp0IqEPhk
More than a dishwasher.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5doe8m7HI
Less than seen.
But I was here.
The small restaurant buzzed with the usual evening rhythm—clinking cutlery, distant chatter, the low hum of the kitchen fan. The warm air carried the scent of fried garlic and steam from boiling pots.
I tied my apron tighter, rolled up my sleeves, and walked toward the sink full of dishes.
Mara stood beside me, already scrubbing plates, her dark hair tied into a loose bun, sleeves wet up to her elbows.
"Late again, huh?" she said with a little smirk.
I gave her a soft smile. "Traffic."
"Liar. You just walk like a ghost," she laughed.
I let out a small laugh too, grabbing a plate and dipping it into the soapy water. "Maybe."
We stood together, shoulder to shoulder, washing dishes like we'd done a hundred times before. Talking in pieces—bits of stories, silly comments, silence in between.
Mara was the only one here who really noticed me.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeK56KU7X5
She never asked too much. Never pitied. Just stood with me.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQSDofUhqv
And that was enough.
A voice called out from the kitchen window.
"Order for table four! Serve it, please."
I wiped my hands quickly, took the tray, and walked out into the dining area.
Two people sat at the table—laughing, dressed in clean, expensive coats. A man and a woman, maybe a couple.
I smiled politely, placing the dishes in front of them carefully.
"Here you go. Enjoy your meal," I said softly, bowing just a little out of habit.
They barely looked at me.
I turned, walked back to the kitchen, and returned to the sink where the mountain of dishes waited like always.
I again lost in my thoughts ..
We work because we have to.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxLeznlnDN
Because life doesn't give discounts for soft hearts or sad eyes.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6YiNvQBz0
We work to eat. To wear. To live.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLaDQREXcK
That's it.
Some people work to survive. Others work to show off.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i28V7vsi0
To post it. Frame it. Flaunt it.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQp3cN3flm
New phones. Expensive bags. Fancy food... they don't even finish.
And then there's us—washing their plates after them.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjs1U8Zw87
Counting every coin. Stretching every bill.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpacf07Vm2
Because we don't have backup plans. We don't have inheritance. We don't have "just in case" savings.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecOUfXbXD2
We only have "just enough."
Mara glanced at me as I stared too long at the water.
"What's going on in that overthinking head of yours?" she asked, bumping her shoulder into mine gently.
I blinked, smiled faintly. "Just thinking."
"Don't. The water's already depressing," she joked, waving a soaked hand.
I chuckled, then sighed. "People don't realize how heavy life is for some of us."
She didn't say anything for a second.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHXG68nFC9
Then quietly muttered, "They don't want to know. It ruins the taste of their food."
We kept washing.
The sink gurgled. The clock ticked slowly. More orders came and went. More dishes piled up.
But here we were—two girls in aprons, soaked hands, and hearts stitched quietly together by the need to keep going...for living .
The rush slowed for a while.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBls719xCfl
The restaurant had entered that brief lull between dinner and closing. The kitchen buzz had softened, and the noise outside was distant.
Mara and I sat on two overturned crates in the back, near the small window that never quite shut.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbHLg1guIY
Steam clung to the ceiling. The fan creaked above us.
She was tying and untying her apron string with her head down.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43S1yX8CNQ
I sipped the lukewarm tea someone had handed us earlier.
"I swear," she muttered suddenly, voice tight, "I didn't even say anything this time."
I looked at her.
She wasn't joking now.
"I just walked in," she continued, eyes not meeting mine, "he was already angry. At Mom. At the noise. At the silence. At dinner being late. At breathing, maybe."
She laughed bitterly. It cracked slightly in the middle.
"I tried to ignore it. I tried to eat quietly. But he looked at me and said, 'What are you staring at?'"21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxq5B0SFuA
She blinked slowly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPegFCELAxS
"I said nothing. Just that—'nothing.'"21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJ6pOD5gnO
A pause.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNq4NmceNk
"And that's all it took. One word. That's all it ever takes with him."
She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Next thing I know, he throws the glass—at the wall, not at me, but it shattered everywhere. Mom starts crying. My little brother hides again. Like always."
Her fingers trembled as she twisted the apron tighter around her palm.
"I shouted back this time," she whispered, "and he told me I'm becoming like my mother—useless. That I should be glad he didn't hit me yet."
I didn't say anything.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8vm8CaG8E
Not right away.
What do you say to pain that familiar?
Mara finally looked up, eyes not wet, just tired.
"So yeah," she said with a broken laugh, "That's the current episode of the lovely drama that is my life. Welcome back to hell."
I placed my cup down gently.
"Don't worry," I said quietly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZJ5cn1BUS
"Life will move through this too."
She looked at me. For a moment, I thought she might argue. That she might say No, this won't pass.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfi5AESTreX
But she just nodded. Just once.
A voice from the kitchen broke the silence.
"Girls! Come on, break's over!"
We stood up slowly, brushing off our aprons.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX5jYWp6LG
She tied hers again. I tied mine.
No more words were said.
But something was understood.
And in a world where understanding is rare—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvl8ZjzoLgF
That was enough.
The shift had ended.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GAhVVlJZ7
I walked through the night streets slowly, the cold biting through the thin fabric of my coat sleeves.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0itBu6NDU
The city lights flickered in the puddles on the road. A quiet kind of noise hung in the air—soft engines, distant voices, and the hush of people getting ready to sleep.
As I passed a small bakery, I stopped.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJhleJ3cus
The window glowed warmly, golden lights spilling onto the footpath.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU49j3OT2Sa
Inside, on the counter, I saw it—the puffy chocolate brownie Mona always loved.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9L7YAofGSd
The one she used to point at every time we passed by.
I walked in, the doorbell chiming gently above me.
A few minutes later, I stepped out again with a paper bag in my hand and a small smile tugging at my lips.
When I reached home, the lights inside were dim.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4y4AAf18bC
Mona was curled up on the couch in her pajamas, a blanket around her legs, watching a cartoon quietly.
She turned as I entered.
I held out the paper bag.
"Guess what I got?"
Her eyes lit up instantly. "Brownie?! No way!"
She jumped up and ran toward me, hugging me tightly.
"Thank you!" she said, grinning up at me.
I smiled, resting my chin gently on her head for a second. "Eat slowly."
She ran back to the couch with the bag in her hand like it was treasure.
I looked around.
Mom's room door was shut. I knocked lightly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJx6kRlcrE
No answer.
I pushed the door open—empty.
Like always.
I didn't feel like eating.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfuiQwrju0
like always .
I walked to my room slowly, changed into my skin pale coloured nighty, and pulled open the window.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuH5wCwiYwz
The night air slipped in, cool and heavy.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbCQ8lhpEB
Outside, the world looked tired too.
I glanced across the street.
The neighbor's window—closed again.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIR66Gi0jO
Curtains drawn. Lights off. Silent.
I stood there for a moment longer, then closed my window.
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