I stood in my bedroom, staring at the suitcase I'd brought home two days ago.
The zipper was still half-open. A sleeve hung over the edge.
I'd spent two days convincing myself I was never going back.
Apparently, I hadn't convinced my suitcase.
My belongings remained where I'd left them: shirts, toiletries, prescribed suppressants, and spare scent patches. I hadn't unpacked. Maybe I'd refused to believe it was over. Or perhaps I'd been exhausted.
I added a fresh shirt, slipped my notebook into the front pocket, and zipped everything shut. Three minutes to pack for a dream I'd spent years chasing.
My phone read 2:47. Soojin's classes ended at three, and I needed to leave around three thirty for my four o'clock check-in.
I sat on the bed and turned the notebook over in my hands. The first complete draft of UNLABELED existed in these pages and a recording on my phone. Once I surrendered the phone, I'd have only these handwritten notes to reconstruct the changes.
