The house was quiet that afternoon—a rare, golden kind of silence that came after a long week. Sunlight streamed through the living room windows, catching the dust motes in gentle swirls. Tiania sat at her desk, reviewing the latest Thamaris Holdings reports on her tablet. Henrick had taken Henessa to school earlier, promising to pick her up before dance class.
It was peaceful, almost too peaceful.
Until a small envelope fell out from between the pages of Henessa’s folder. It was decorated with purple stars, blue hearts, and one crookedly drawn flower. In Henessa’s loopy handwriting, it read:
“To Future Me.”
Tiania smiled faintly, brushing her thumb over the sticker, sealing it. She hesitated. It was clearly part of a school project. Still, curiosity pulled at her. The teacher must have sent the assignment home for safekeeping, and it wasn’t meant to be opened yet.
But something about it—something tender—made her pause her work completely.
