"Good morning, princess! Did you miss me? Are we still on the Ferris wheel?"
Zion's cheerful greeting greeted me like a ray of sunshine breaking through a heavy mist, catching me off guard as if he had magically leaped into a personal realm that was just ours. His playful use of the word 'princess' was a new addition to his usual repertoire, infusing a certain charm to his already charismatic persona. However, beneath the surface of that charming exterior, a quiet alarm began to sound in my mind. Something felt distinctly different about him; it was as if a switch had been flipped in the depths of his being. The Zion I remembered—vibrant, lively, a tad reckless—seemed almost transformed, replaced by someone who floated into the room like a creature from a dream. A weight settled in my sto
