Chapter 212

The days that followed the gathering blurred into something soft and unexpected.

Where once the streets had felt heavy with silence and suspicion, now they carried small signs of life.

Laughter here, a broom sweeping there, and always—flowers.

It began with a little girl no more than six, pressing a wilted daisy into my hand when I walked the courtyard.

She had no words, only wide eyes, but she ra