She raised her eyebrows slightly, clearly surprised.
“What do you think?” I asked.
Her eyes searched mine, as if trying to decide whether I was serious or teasing her.
Without saying a word, Jiya placed her hand in mine and walked toward the dance floor.
Her hand felt warm and surprisingly light in my palm.
We swayed to the music, and my heart fluttered like music had found its way into my chest.
Her fingers tightened slightly around mine.
I told myself it was just a dance, just a moment, but I realized I did not want the song to end.
31
JIYA
Aweek later, I woke up sweating. My heart hammered violently in my chest as if it were trying to escape my ribcage. A dream had jolted me awake so suddenly that for a few seconds I couldn’t even remember where I was. I stared up at the ceiling, my breathing uneven, my body still trapped in the shadow of the nightmare.
In the dream, a black raven had been flying around me in circles. Its wings had cut through the air with a haunting rhythm that echoed in my ears even after I woke. I had tried to shoo it away, waving my hands, stepping back, begging it silently to leave me alone, but it refused to go. No matter how much I tried, it kept circling me, its dark eyes fixed on mine. The memory of it sent a shiver crawling up my spine.
Unable to shake the dread clawing at my chest, I grabbed my phone and immediately began researching what the dream could mean. My fingers trembled as I scrolled through the results.
Death!
My stomach twisted sharply.
It was four in the morning, and I knew there was no chance I would fall back asleep. My mind was far too restless, far too disturbed by the dream that still haunted my thoughts. I sat up slowly, pressing a hand against my chest as I tried to get my breathing under control.
I whispered a prayer, hoping to push the dark feeling away. After that, I forced myself to get out of bed and begin the day. Something inside me already knew it would not be an easy one.
Around ten in the morning, my phone rang. When I saw Elle’s name on the screen, a small knot formed in my stomach. I answered quickly.
“Jiji, I have some bad news,” she began, her voice hesitant. “Patty passed away the day before yesterday. I just found out when her daughter replied to my message.”
I took a step back instinctively, as if the words themselves had physically pushed me. A heaviness spread through my chest, expanding slowly until it felt like my lungs could barely hold any air.
My dream.
That raven circling me again and again.
This was what it had been hinting at.
A coldness spread through my body, seeping into my bones.
“Are you there? Did you hear what I said?” Elle’s voice came through the phone again, sounding distant, as though it were travelling through water.
“I’m here, I’m here,” I said quickly, forcing the words past the tightness in my throat. I swallowed hard, but the lump forming there refused to go away. Feelings of guilt, shock, and remorse crashed into me all at once, heavy and overwhelming.
Patty.
She had been my strength when everything in my life had been falling apart. She had been my comfort when I had nowhere else to turn. She had been the first face Lucas hadknown other than mine. She had been there for me through both relationships that had shaped my life—through the heartbreak with Harper and the complicated, painful love I shared with Caleb. Patty had seen every broken piece of me and had still treated me like I was worth loving.
Emotion flooded through me, and before I could stop it, a tear rolled slowly down my cheek.
“When is the funeral?” I asked.
