Chapter 91

Twenty years later, I found myself staring at a broken mirror that had caught my attention while I was trying to get something to eat. The shabby gas station where I had stopped seemed frozen in time, the same chipped paint on the walls, the same worn-out sign swinging above, and the same lingering scent of gasoline in the air. I sighed, lost in my thoughts as I absently stirred the lukewarm coffee in my hand.

“Joan!” I turned as I heard my name being called. A young boy was making his way towards me with a grin on his face. Recognition flickered in my mind as memories from a year ago resurfaced. It was Jamal, the spirited teenager I had met during a chance encounter. Back then, he had been a lanky seventeen-year-old, full of dreams and aspirations.

“What are you doing here?” Jamal asked, his excitement evident in his voice.

I smiled warmly at him, setting my coffee aside. “Just passing through, Jamal. How have you been?”

He scratched his head sheepishly. “Oh