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Later that afternoon, the world settled into its usual rhythm. The kind filled with small, repetitive movements: folding laundry, wiping spilled water, nursing through mini tantrums, bouncing Solana through her afternoon fussiness.

Everything felt normal.

But Mira wasn't.

She kept glancing at the hallway like it might ripple again. Like the air itself might sing.

But the house stayed quiet. No mystery children. No melodies. Just the thud-thud of her toddler's feet as she ran from one pile of toys to the next, babbling and giggling, then crying, then giggling again — the usual chaos.

It wasn't until dusk, when Mira stepped outside to shake out a blanket, that she noticed it.

A door.

Where there had never been a door.

It was tucked into the far corner of the small backyard, nestled between the crumbling garden wall and the guava tree. Faint, grayish blue. Narrow, like it had been carved out of air. She blinked and looked again — and it was still there.

She should have panicked.

Instead, her heart fluttered with something like... familiarity.

She walked slowly toward it, still barefoot. Solana, perched on her hip, was unusually quiet. Her thumb rested near her mouth, but she didn't suck it. Her eyes were locked on the door, curious but not afraid.

Mira touched the knob.

Cool. Real.

She turned it.

It didn't open.

Instead, something unlocked inside her.

A memory.

A night. A different house. Her mother, standing in the doorway of her childhood room, humming that same strange song.

She had asked, "Mama, where did you learn that?"

Her mother had smiled, touched her cheek, and said, "From a door I walked through once. Just like you will."

Mira gasped, the memory hitting like wind.

She looked down at Solana, who looked up at her and said, as clear as day:

"Mama... open."

It was the first time Solana had ever used that word.

Mira stared at her in stunned silence — but her daughter only smiled and pressed her forehead gently against Mira's once again.

Just like this morning.

And when Mira looked back up, the door was gone.

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