The night air in Phnom Penh was thick with humidity,pressing against Debbie as she walked home from her evening class. The streets buzzed with life, but she felt strangely detached, lost in her thoughts.
In the last few months, she'd tried to move forward,
but the emotional weight of everything—her
unresolved feelings for Pasco, Felix's quiet heartbreak,and the pressure of reclaiming her life—kept pulling her back. At her desk, she opened her journal, a habit that had become her lifeline.
"Dear self, it's time to let go,
" she wrote. "Pasco is a memory, Felix is a friend, and you… you're still figuring out who you are. That's okay."
A knock at the door interrupted her. Aria stood there,holding two bubble teas and a mischievous grin.
"Emergency girls' night," Aria declared, barging in
without waiting for an answer.
Debbie laughed, despite herself. "What's the
emergency this time?"
"Your face," Aria teased, plopping down on Debbie's couch. "You've been brooding for weeks. It's time to lighten up."