Chapter 89

"We're leaving soon," I tell her. She steps to the side and lets me into her room. I step through the door, taking a moment to take in the neatness of it. There's something I've noticed about every empty room we've given away to newcomers: they all look the same at first, but it's what each person does with it that makes each one so different. "I was just seeing if you were ready to go," I say, turning to her. "Almost." Carlina walks past me. "I just have to pack my bag. She makes her way to her closet and enters it. With a backpack in her hand, she comes out of the closet a few seconds later. "Pack your bag?" I ask. "We're not going for long. We'll probably be back by the end of the day." She nods, telling me she knows. "I'm just packing the essentials." I'm about to ask her what she could possibly need, but she continues speaking before I can. "You never know what you could need." I look over to her bend and see a few piles of things. A fraction