I opened to the marked page and started reading, my voice soft and calm.
“Luna walked through the meadow where stars grew on trees, their petals glowing in the dark. She wasn’t afraid of the shadows anymore, because she had magic in her pockets and light in her heart.”
Zurie shifted closer to me, her head resting on her folded hands as I kept going.
“The wind told her stories about girls who had wings, and the moon gave her secrets that only brave children could understand. She followed the glow, one step at a time, until she reached the tallest Skyflower Tree in the forest…”
As I turned the page, my phone buzzed on the edge of the mattress.
I glanced down, not thinking anything of it, until I saw the name on the screen.
Trill-Land Selection Team
My whole body froze.
I stared at the notification for a second, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. For a minute, I didn’t move. I just stared at the screen like maybe I had imagined it.
Then I picked up the phone, my hands shaking, and tapped the email open.
Dear Pluto Monroe,
Congratulations. You have officially been selected as one of the final Diamonds of Trill-Land. Further details and travel instructions will be sent within the next 48 hours.”
I blinked, reading it again, then again and again.
It didn’t feel real, but it was.
I had been chosen…
It was really happening…
I looked down at Zurie. She had already drifted off again, her body finally still and breath slow and even. I didn’t want to wake her, but I felt this burst of something I hadn’t felt in weeks—hope.
I set the book on the nightstand, leaned over, and kissed the top of her head.
Then I whispered to the room, not expecting an answer, “Okay… we might really have a chance now.”
I sat there a little longer, the phone still in my hand, my heart still racing, my mind already turning toward whatever came next.
We had one more day left until it was time to fly to Trill-Land, and my nerves were starting to get loud.
The past week had been a blur of shopping trips, hair appointments, nail salons, and last-minute prep runs with Kashmere. She had dipped into her savings to help both of us get right since I didn’t have it like that, and I hated accepting it, but I knew I had to. We hit every mall from Gulfport to Mobile, trying on dresses, two-piece sets, heels that looked good but hurt like hell, and sleepwear we’d probably never wear but packed anyway just in case we ended up in some camera-ready moment.
Kashmere made it feel fun. She kept the energy high, laughing at how long I took in the dressing room and dragging me into stores I would’ve never stepped foot in on my own. She made me try on things I didn’t think I could pull off, telling me over and over again that I was a bad bitch and I needed to walk like it.
We got our nails done together, her choosing long pink coffin tips while I went with something short and simple. We got silk presses and matching edge wraps. I even let the lady arch my eyebrows, even though I winced the whole time. Kashmere kept calling it our pre-rich-girl glow-up, saying we had to beready to step into the mansion like we belonged there from the beginning.
But no matter how many bags we came home with or how good I looked in the mirror, the heaviness in my chest never let up.
Zurie was still here, and I was about to leave her behind.
When we got back to the apartment that evening, Kashmere helped me carry in the shopping bags, both of us out of breath by the time we got everything inside. Mama was laid across the couch, a cigarette balanced between her fingers and her foot bouncing uncontrollably. Her nerves were always bad when she ran out of pills.
The second she saw Zurie walk through the door, she sat up and smashed the cigarette into an ashtray, reaching her arms out.
“Hey, my baby,” she said, like she hadn’t seen her in years.
Zurie gave her a soft smile, but she leaned into me instead. I guided her down the hallway to her room while Kash followed behind, helping set the bags down on my bed before meeting me in Zurie’s room.
