A street musician played a battered guitar near the fountain. Laughter carried from a nearby café where two friends argued over the last croissant. Children chased each other through the crowd, their shouts bright and unruly.

The silence that had once been terrifying had become something else. Something almost like peace.

A young woman bumped into Y/n as she passed, muttering a quick apology and offering a small, genuine smile. It was the kind of casual human exchange that had felt impossible just a year ago. The kind of thing that now felt precious. Ordinary. Normal.

Then a man stepped directly into Y/n's path.

The stranger's smile remained fixed, patient, as if he were waiting for a recognition that should have arrived by now.