The air pressed against her skin like a dare — flinch-hot, the kind of heat that makes breath hesitate and memories bubble to the surface. Streets shimmered in wavering gold; the horizon leaned in, impatient. She moved through it with a slow, deliberate grace, as if any sudden motion would start a small avalanche inside her chest. Every stray laugh, every close-passed shoulder felt like friction, sparking tiny, electric regrets.