Fumi looked up to see a woman standing before her. She was dressed in simple clothes, her face lined with sorrow but kind. There was something different about her—a warmth in her eyes that Fumi hadn't seen in a long time.
"Yes," Fumi said cautiously. "I haven't eaten in days."
The woman knelt down to her level. "My name is Adora," she said gently. "What's your name?"
"Fumi," she whispered.
Adora studied her for a moment, then sat beside her on the steps. "I know what it's like to be hungry, to feel like the world has turned its back on you," she said. "I've been there too."
Fumi's curiosity was piqued. "You have?"
Adora nodded. "I lost my husband and children in one terrible day. The people in my village said I was cursed and cast me out. I've been alone ever since."
Fumi's eyes widened. She had never met anyone who understood what it felt like to lose everything.
Adora stood and extended her hand. "Come with me, Fumi. I don't have much, but I can give you food and a place to rest."
Fumi hesitated. She had spent so long relying only on herself that the idea of trusting someone felt foreign. But there was something in Adora's voice—a sincerity that made her want to believe.
Slowly, she placed her small hand in Adora's.
The woman led her to a tiny, run-down apartment on the edge of the city. It was a single room with a cracked ceiling and sparse furniture, but to Fumi, it felt like a palace.
Adora handed her a plate of rice and beans. Fumi devoured it, tears streaming down her face as she tasted real food for the first time in weeks.
"You don't have to be alone anymore," Adora said softly, watching her eat. "Stay with me. We can face this world together."
Fumi nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. For the first time in a long while, she felt a glimmer of hope.
Life with Adora wasn't easy. The neighborhood was still filled with people who whispered and pointed, calling them names and avoiding their path. But Adora's presence gave Fumi strength.
"People will always talk," Adora said one day as they walked to the market. "But their words don't define us. What matters is how we choose to live."
Fumi took those words to heart. She began to see that her past, no matter how painful, didn't have to dictate her future. And with Adora by her side, she felt ready to face whatever came next.