This wasn’t just a stranger in a dress; this was a revelation.
“Who are you?” I managed to choke out, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears. The woman took a deep breath, her eyes filling with tears. She didn’t answer immediately, instead reaching out a hand as if to steady me. The touch was warm, solid, and terrifyingly real. It was the touch of someone who had survived, someone who had lived through the darkness I had assumed was her end.
She began to tell a story that
