Back on the street, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Each step felt heavy with the weight of the decision I was about to make.
The kids were still there, their presence like a beacon pulling me forward.
She looked up as I approached, surprise etched on her face.
“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.
“I saw you,” I replied simply, gesturing towards the kids.
“I had to come back.”
Silence stretched between us, a chasm filled with unspoken words.
I could see the wariness in her eyes, the walls she had built around herself.
They mirrored my own, a reflection of the barriers we had both erected.
“What do you want?” she asked, her tone guarded.
