Page 10 of Carved in Ruin

Rafael rolled his eyes again but took the small wrinkled piece of paper from her. “I hope you’re happy,” he muttered.

They both scribbled down their wishes, and then Rafael fished the scissors out of his pocket. He cut a small piece of his hair and handed it to Mila, who did the same with hers, her tiny hands shaking a little as she worked.

“You’re sure this is gonna work?”

“Uh-huh. It has to.”

They both tossed the scraps of paper into the fountain at the same time, their eyes following the small pieces as they sank beneath the surface, disappearing into the rippling water.

Rafael squatted down beside her, his arms crossed. “So, what did you wish for?”

“I can’t tell you! Then it won’t come true!” She giggled.

“That’s dumb,”

Mila gave in, her eyes full of childish wonder as she looked at him. “I wished for us to always be together, Rafael. Forever.”

Six

Unspoken Desires

Mila

Isit on the bed, spooning ice cream straight from the carton, staring at the wall like I’m in a trance. After the talk by the fountain, Father sent Layla and me to our rooms while he took Rafael to his office, no doubt for some business discussion.

Rafael didn’t ask for my number. He didn’t say anything more. Just… nothing. It’s been two days now. And it’s the same as it always was: dead silence.

I actually thought this time would be different. I laid it all out there, peeled back everything, hoping maybe he’d give me something. But it’s like that whole moment by the fountain didn’t mean a thing to him.

The second he was gone, I went back to the fountain, pulling his note out of the water before I could talk myself out of it. It was a crumpled mess, the paper soggy and blurred. I managed toflatten it out. I could barely make out the letters, most of the ink having bled away, but one word stood out, clear as day:Justice.

I stared at it, this one hard word that he’d left behind, while mine was some naive little wish to go back to how things used to be. I didn’t even see my note floating in the fountain, it probably sunk, my silly little wish dissolving with it.

Layla waltzes into the room, catching me mid-scoop. I instinctively pull the ice cream to my chest like it’s the last pint on earth. She laughs as she heads towards me, and before I know it, she’s snatched the spoon right out of my hand and is shoveling a big bite into her mouth.

“Ew, Layla, my spoon!” I screech, half-laughing, half-exasperated, swatting at her, but she just grins, taking another obnoxiously large bite.

She flops down next to me, and I lean my head on her shoulder, sighing. Guilt twists in my stomach—I was so jealous of her earlier. She was so natural with Rafael, so effortless, able to talk to him without second-guessing every word. Meanwhile, I was a complete mess, too tongue-tied to even manage a normal conversation.

Layla glances at me with a sly smile, taking another bite ofmyice cream. “So… possessive of him, are we?” she teases.

I nearly choke, trying to hide my reaction. “What? Possessive? Of who?” I say quickly, pretending to be deeply interested in smoothing out the blanket on my bed. I really thought she wouldn’t bring it up.

“Oh, please,” she says, nudging me with her shoulder. “You know, when I was talking to him at dinner, you looked like you were ready to murder me on the spot.”

I stiffen. “That’s ridiculous. Why would I care?”

“I was waiting for you to launch across the table and yank me away from him.”

I roll my eyes, hugging the ice cream tub a bit tighter. “I wasn’t going to ‘yank’ anyone away. Besides, you’re reading way too much into it.”

“Right,” she scoffs. “And you definitely didn’t shoot me a death glare when I asked to go with you guys to the fountain.”

I bite back a groan, heat prickling at my back. “Look, it was… I just thought it’d be weird if we all went, that’s all.”

“Oh, totally,” she says, her grin widening. “Not because you wanted some alone time with him, right?”

“I promise, Layla,” I say, fighting to keep my voice steady. “There’s nothing there. I just… I just wanted some semblance of closure, that’s all.”

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