The city hummed on, indifferent and loud. But on that rooftop, under a sky smeared with stars and smog, two girls chose to stay.
The word hung in the humid air like the first drop of rain before a storm. thmyl- albnt tqwlh ana khayfh ant btdws jamd bnt...
Layla tightened her grip.
Layla pulled her back from the edge—not with force, but with the quiet gravity of someone who refused to let go. The city hummed on, indifferent and loud
Layla's voice cracked on the last syllable. She wasn't scared of the height. She wasn't scared of the drop. She was scared of her . Of Mariam. Of what Mariam had become in the three months since her older brother disappeared—taken by men in plain clothes, no charges, no phone call, just a black van and the screech of tires. Layla tightened her grip