48


    48


    Sienna’s POV


    50%


    I never imagined I would be sitting at the same table with them. Not in a situation like this. Not in a 24-hour family diner with soft yellow lights and the faint sound of fryinging from the kitchen. But here I am now, sitting next to Noah, nked by Liliana, while Liam and Emily sit directly across from me.


    No one speaks. Only the sound of Noah’s spoon stirring his half-melted vani ice cream and the gentle hum of the AC breaking the silence. My eyes briefly met Liam’s-just for a moment-before we both looked away. Emily kept her head down, hugging her ss of milk, who knows what she was thinking. Liliana beside me only held my hand tightly under the table, as if she knew I needed an anchor so I wouldn’t get swept away by my own


    emotions.


    “Mommy likes vani ice cream, right?” Noah’s small voice finally rang out, innocent and honest as always. He


    offered me a spoonful of his ice cream.


    I smiled, though my heart trembled. “I do, sweetheart. But tonight, you eat it, okay?”


    He nodded, then continued eating. It’s that simple for a child-love, longing, eptance. But for adults, everything is so much moreplicated. Too many wounds, too many unspoken words.


    “I… didn’t expect you’de here with them,” Liam said softly, almost like a murmur, but clearly meant for <ol><li></li></ol>


    I slowly lifted my head and looked at him. “I didn’t expect to run into you all tonight either.”


    Liam nodded once, like he was holding back something he wanted to say but didn’t. Emily beside him remained


    silent. Her face was calm but tense, like someone preparing for a storm that coulde at any moment.


    “Auntie Liliana asked Mommy toe eat,” Noah chimed in, exining the situation as if he wanted everyone


    to stop acting weird. “Then we met Daddy and Auntie Emily, Then… we sat together!”


    We all nodded as if that were the most normal thing in the world.


    But for us adults, this was no ordinary gathering.


    This was a dinner table full of history, full of unanswered questions, and emotions that couldn’t be simplified


    with a single spoonful of vani ice cream.


    Yet somehow… I was grateful this night happened. Because in the midst of all the pain andplexity, I could


    11:16 AM Tue 2 Sep


    48


    still see one real thing: Noah’s smile.


    ~ 50%


    Noah ate eagerly, as if the world revolved around him and the food before him. His small hands pointed excitedly at his favorite foods, his mouth didn’t stop talking about things I couldn’t quite understand because he spoke too quickly- -too happy, too full of longing. I fed him slowly, trying to keep my trembling hands from showing. Every bite seemed to calm the storm inside my chest, while also stirring wounds that hadn’t truly


    healed.


    “Noah really loves the fried chicken,” he said with a mouth full, his face glowing.


    I just gave a small smile, adjusting the napkin in hisp. “Slow down, sweetheart. You might choke.”


    He nodded quickly and resumed chewing. That little face… it hadn’t changed much since Ist held him. But now it looked older, more expressive. Or maybe it’s just me-maybe time had stolen too much from us.


    Across the table, I could feel their eyes on me. Liam, silent. Emily, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Was it anger, difort, or just confusion about this sudden, tension-filled encounter? But neither


    of them touched their food. Their tes remained full. Their spoons never lifted.


    I didn’t dare look at them for too long. Too afraid to see the remnants of the wounds we once shared, or perhaps


    the truth that I was no longer part of “us.”


    I tried to focus on Noah-his fingers sticky with sauce, his voice babbling on, his innocentughter bubbling without burden. But the world around me felt fragile, like ss that could shatter at any moment. The mood at this table was far too quiet for a family gathering. Except for Noah, no one was really talking. Only the soft clink of my spoon resting on the te’s edge.


    “I dreamed Mommy was at school,” Noah suddenly said, turning to me with his wide, sparkling eyes. “Mommy


    was sitting in the very back row. But Mommy was crying.”


    My heart dropped. I held my breath for several seconds before finally offering a faint smile. “It was just a


    dream, sweetheart. Mommy wasn’t crying.”


    “But I hugged Mommy in the dream,” he continued, unaffected by my hollow smile. “Then I said, don’t be sad.


    I’m here.”


    My tears almost spilled. I quickly lowered my head, grabbed a tissue, and pretended to wipe Noah’s mouth. Behind his little head, I could sense Emily’s eyes still on me. A look I didn’t interpret-because honestly, I couldn’t bear the meaning of it tonight.


    Liliana beside me just sipped her orange juice quietly. Her eyes moved from one person to another, observing


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    50%


    with the awareness of a best friend who knew all too well the storm churning inside me. But she said nothing. She didn’t press me with questions, didn’t offer advice. Maybe she knew that this time, all I needed was space to


    breathe.


    I wiped Noah’s cheek when a smear of sauce stuck there. He looked at me whileughing, then said, “Mommy, juste home. The house is quiet, the red robot is broken too.”


    I froze for a moment, then offered a faint smile and gave a small nod, even though my chest felt like it was being squeezed from the inside. “We’ll talk about itter, okay? For now, eat a lot.”


    “Hmm,


    “Noah nodded as he opened his mouth again, ready to be fed.


    I could feel Liam’s heavy breath from across the table. Could feel the tension hanging like a thin fog that


    refused to lift. But I chose to focus on my child. For now, that’s the only thing I could hold onto without


    conditions, without having to think too far ahead.


    GET IT N…


    11:16 AM Tue 2 Sep