The fires still burned in the streets below, but up here, it felt quieter. Lilith sat beside me on the rooftop, knees drawn close, eyes following the last of the celebration like she was trying to memorize it.

Then she looked at me.

“Musa,” she said, quiet, steady.

“Yeah?”

She hesitated, just for a breath. “Would you come with me? To the Golden Land?”

I blinked.

Of all the things I thought she might say, that wasn’t one of them.

I let out a low laugh. “That’s not exactly easy.”

“I know.”

“You can’t just walk in there from here. They don’t want us. Wastelanders don’t belong in their perfect world. You get searched like a criminal just to step through the gates. They ask everything—your name, where you’re staying, why you’re there. You have to pay, every night. And they even label you, so everyone knows that you don’t belong.”

She was still looking at me. Calm. Certain.

“You won’t have to do any of that,” she said. “You’d be registered under my name. You can pass easily, if you’re with a Golden Lander. No searches. No fees. Or at least, less of that.”

I studied her. “Why?” I asked. “Why would you want me there.”

She looked away for the first time, down at the street, where the laughter still echoed.

“I want you to see my world too.”

That made something in me go still.

Then she glanced back at me, voice a little softer. “Have you ever been? To the Golden Land?”

I shook my head. “I’ve never been there. Orid has, a couple of times. And I know it’s not a place a Wastelander would want to be. It might be the best place to be, but you’ll never be welcomed.”

I should’ve said no. But something in me was curious what if.

I swallowed. “Alright. I’ll come.”

She smiled—small, but it reached her eyes.

“But,” I added, bumping her with my knee, “you’re staying one more night here.”

She looked confused.

“We’ll go tomorrow. You’ve already slept in my bed once—what’s one more time?”

That earned a real smile from her. “Three nights in a row. That’s fast. But okay, if you insist.”

I leaned back on my hands, glancing down at the flickering streets below.

Tomorrow would be a different world.

But for now, we were still here. Still us.