[Palm– 11:39 p.m.]
"It's like a campfire,"
Best mutters.
Everyone turns toward him. He shrugs.
"You know... people used to tell stories around fires."
We're all too tired to laugh.
But not too tired to listen.
"I vote Palm starts",
Jack says.
"What?"
I blink.
"You're the smart kid. Bet you've got something."
I look at Win.
He doesn't say anything.
Just nods once.
A small smile, not forced.
My heart kicks once, too hard.
[11:42 p.m.]
"I was 14,"
I begin, fingers curled around a cracked pencil I found earlier.
"Mae was yelling because our water filter broke again. Our apartment's always had these leaks, right?"
Everyone's listening now, even Dean.
"I had nothing but scrap—some busted wires, a broken fan, and a plastic bottle."
I smile without realizing it.
"I stayed up all night. Made the ugliest-looking DIY filter system out of tape and tears."
Emily chuckles softly.
"But it worked,
I add.
"Clear water. First time in months. I gave it to mae like it was gold."
---------------
[Flashback – Palm, Age 14]
The apartment smelled like rain and detergent.
"Mae krub!"
I yelled.
"Look!"
She glanced at the mess in my hands. Wires taped to a bottle, water dripping through cotton balls.
Her eyebrows raised.
Then… she smiled.
Biggest smile I'd seen in weeks.
"You made this?"
she asked.
I nodded, breathless.
She ruffled my hair.
"Maybe you'll build something that saves the world someday."
-------------
[Back to rooftop]
"I didn't save the world,"
I murmur.
I look at the fire.
"But… that night, I saved mae's hope."
No one says anything for a moment.
Then Win quietly says:
"You still make magic out of trash, huh?"
I glance up.
He's looking at me with that same small smile.
Not teasing.
Not mocking.
Just… soft.
And for a second, it's hard to breathe.
I laugh, shaky.
"Better than being useless."
He nudges my shoulder.
"You're not."
[11:52 p.m.]
Lin is half-asleep on Kao's lap.
Emily is tearing a paper strip into smaller strips just to stay calm.
Dean is… staring at me like he sees through me.
But me?
I'm staring at the firelight dancing on Win's face.
And thinking—
If I live long enough, I'll tell him everything.
___________________________