Berfe, Ece, and Talin had grown up in the same coastal town, where the sea painted every memory in shades of turquoise and salt. They were fifteen that summer — old enough to crave freedom, young enough to still believe in signs.
Talin laughed. “That’s us.”
They found the stone — a pale, warm rock behind the lighthouse that held heat long after sunset. When Talin placed her compass on it, the needle spun once, then pointed inland, toward the forgotten cedar forest.