Nadia's POV

“Mom… don’t…don’t close your eyes, okay?” My voice cracked. I grabbed her hand. I was scared to let go. What if it slips away?

Her fingers shook slightly. She managed this tiny smile, lips moving slowly. “Nadia… honey… watch over him,” she whispered, voice like paper tearing. “Aster… your brother… always.”

Hot tears stung my face. I shook my head, desperate. “No, Mom. Please. I can’t do this alone. I just can’t.”

She squeezed my hand. Weak. “You can,” she breathed, so soft I had to lean in. “You’re stronger than you know… you’ll take care of him… I know you will.” Her hand slipped out of mine. Gone.

The monitor spat out one long, flat note.

Then nothing.

Silence filled the room. I sat there, frozen, staring at her. My mum, who had always been the one I ran to in hard times, was lying there motionless.

I couldn't cry. What was I supposed to do now? I watched as the nurse covered her face with a white cloth and whispered something to me.

Probably relaying her sympathy.

My mind blanked out as I stood up, sniffing and accepting the fact that my mum is gone.

Aster, only ten years old, curled himself on the sofa. I walked to him and kissed his forehead. I sniffed carefully enough not to wake him up.

He woke up anyway.

“Big sister?” Couldn’t even look him in the eye. “She… she’s not…?”

I swallowed hard, forced myself to nod, to try for a smile. It felt like a lie. “No, bud. She’s gone. But she left us with each other. We gotta stick together now, okay? Always.”

He just held on to me, arms around my waist. I hugged him back tight, my promise to protect him ringing loud in my head.

Dad died years ago in a dumb construction accident. I swore then I’d always keep Aster safe. Now it was just us. Nobody to call on. We were all alone in this world.

*****

The funeral was a blur.

I walked next to Aster as he held me. I wanted to scream, but instead, I knelt and whispered to my mother's casket to take care of him.

Aster peered up at me, eyes huge. “I’m scared, Nadia,” he whispered.

“Yeah, me too, bud,” I admitted. My voice shook. “But we’ve got each other. That’s enough. For now, anyway.”

That night, I dragged myself home, weaving through the glow of San Francisco’s streetlights man, that city really knows how to show off after dark. Our apartment looked extra tiny compared to all that endless sky. Aster, my little shadow, was already at the door, peering out at me, his eyes doing that big, worried puppy thing.

“Will we be okay without mum?” he asked, squeezing my hand so hard it almost hurt.

I just smiled and bent down, trying to smile even though my face said some else. “We have to be. We have each other.”

He didn’t look convinced. “But… you look sad.”

“Yeah, I am,” I told him. I couldn’t lie. “But being sad doesn’t pay rent, right? I gotta keep it together. For you.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, and just like that, the weight of everything being broken, being alone, being the adult hit me all over again. We really were on our own. Still… maybe we’d be okay. Stranger things have happened, right?

Later, I flopped onto our sad excuse for a couch, laptop perched dangerously on my knees, legs going numb. Job hunting is basically my new full-time job at this point: scroll, click, reject, rinse, repeat. My inbox was full of rejection emails from different companies I had applied to.

Aster was hiding out in his room, headphones on, probably watching cartoons or fighting dragons or whatever. Lucky him. I’d kill for a little escapism. I sighed and opened another email because hope is a stubborn thing fully expecting the usual rejection.

But then.

Wait.

Hold on.

Titronix HR?

My heart did this weird jumpy thing as I clicked.

Dear Ms. Martin,

We are pleased to inform you…

I swear I reread it like, three times, just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks. My hands started to shake and I couldn't help it. Out came this ridiculous, half-sobbing, half-laughing sound. I actually got the job. Titronix. Not some part-time job, but a real job.

“Aster!” I yelled, probably scaring the kid out of whatever cartoon universe he was in. “Come here! Quick!”

He came out all skeptical, one eyebrow up. “What?”

“I got a job! The job! Titronix!” I was practically vibrating.

His whole face lit up and he launched himself at me, arms around my neck. “No way! That’s awesome, Nadia!”

I hugged him so tight…probably a little too much. Suddenly, I could breathe again. For the first time in a very long time, I felt there was hope somewhere.

The rest of the night? Total scramble. Dug out the least-wrinkled professional outfit I owned, Googled the office route like a hundred times, and jotted down everything I could about the company. No way was I screwing this up.

Not after everything.

The next morning, I walked into Titronix with my heart pounding like I’d just run a marathon. The building was purely made of glass with employees looking all serious. I clutched my new badge like it was a lottery ticket

“Um, hi. I’m Nadia Martin. Starting today?” My voice shook a little, but the receptionist was all smiles as she gave me a welcome package, and it helped me feel at ease, somehow.

“Elevator, fifth floor. Mr. Dalton’ll meet you up there.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile, retrieving the package and turning around.

I felt her eyes on me as I walked away. Did I make a bad first impression?

I walked in as the elevator doors chimed. I breathed in a smile.

This was it. No way in hell was I letting it slip through my fingers.