Chapter 67

Cecilia Early one morning, I rose from bed and stepped onto the balcony , stretching as I gazed out at the ocean view. I hadn't checked any comments or social media since posting the video. My phone remained turned off and buried in my bag. But I could anticipate the outcome. The internet was a place where once you understood the rules of the game, your opponents could play by those same rules. In the end, truth and lies became intertwined, reality obscured by fog. I'd driven all night two days ago, arriving at my grandmother's home by morning. After eating something, I'd slept for an entire day. Only this morning did I finally feel like myself again. My grandmother lived in a fishing village, with the sea right outside her door. My parents had been staying here for several days—my father was out fishing with my uncle, while my mother was helping grandmother dry fish in the sun. I stretched on the second-floor balcony, my muscles aching pleasantly from my morning workout. From up here,