{Lianna}
The following day, Lianna sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor of the chapel, her eyes closed in deep concentration.
Beside her, Olin sat in silent meditation, his presence acting as an anchor in the sea of her tumultuous thoughts.
Things went differently today.
With each breath, Lianna sought to quiet the storm of feelings that raged within her mind, only to find that the calm and clarity she'd previously felt was eluding her.
Today, memories came unbidden, flooding her consciousness.
Images of her childhood at the orphanage flashed before her eyes, each one a reminder of the loneliness and isolation she had endured.
The taunts and jeers, the other children's cruel words cutting deep into her heart.
She remembered the long, lonely nights years later that she spent wandering the streets, seeking solace in the arms of strangers, desperate to fill the void in her chest.
