Chapter 4 — An Unlikely Partnership

Sophie

The echo of Nate’s footsteps faded down the corridor, but his words lingered in Sophie’s mind: *Stories are how we make sense of the world. They connect us.* She pressed her notebook closer to her chest, as if its weight could steady her unmoored thoughts. Stories were sacred to her—not just threads of connection, but fragile and irreplaceable. Entrusting them to someone who didn’t fully grasp their depth felt reckless, like leaving a rare manuscript out in the rain.