Without hesitation, Samantha had gathered the trembling kitten against her chest, feeling its fragile heartbeat thrum against her skin. She named him Juniper that very evening, a name that somehow carried both delicacy and strength—the same things she hoped to reclaim for herself in this new, uncertain life.
In the days that followed, Juniper became her constant companion. He was there through long afternoons when loneliness pooled thick in her bones, through sleepless nights where anger and sadness blurred into one. He was the quiet anchor she hadn’t known she needed until he was already wrapped around her heart.