Everywhere Carmen turned, she was met with accusatory stares. People whispered, pointed, and smirked, feeding on her misery like vultures circling their prey. In a fit of rage, she hurled her bag of groceries at a couple, shouting, "You're shameless! Get lost! Leave me alone!" The man ducked, but his wife was not so lucky. The bag struck her chest.
Furious, the woman lunged forward, grabbing Carmen's hair. "You filthy tramp!" she screeched, pulling Carmen to the ground. "What gave you the right to hit me? I'll show you!" The woman was powerfully built, and Carmen was no match for her strength.
Within seconds, Carmen was pinned to the pavement, helpless against the woman's weight. "Let's see how brave you are now," the woman spat, clawing at Carmen's clothes. The sound of tearing fabric sliced the air. The cold air hit Carmen's exposed skin, and she froze.
"No! Stop it! Let go of me!" Carmen screamed, tears streaming down her face. Her cries echoed across the street. Despite her efforts to appear indifferent to the lies and humiliation, this shattered her façade. She cared—too much.
As the woman ripped at her shirt, Carmen's mind snapped. A surge of adrenaline propelled her to push the woman away, sending her staggering backward. Without hesitation, Carmen clutched her torn clothes and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she ran to the rooftop of her apartment building. The wind was biting, but Carmen felt nothing.
Standing at the edge, she looked down. The city sounds faded. "Just jump, Carmen," she whispered. It seemed easy. One step.
"Someone's on the roof!"
Felicia, returning with her bag of herbs, looked up. A figure swayed precariously on the rooftop edge, hair and clothes whipping in the wind. Dropping her bag, her heart pounded. Fragmented memories surfaced—memories of another life. In that life, Felicia, the ostracized "illegitimate daughter," and Carmen, slandered for a crime she didn't commit, were outcasts. In that life, Carmen's torment had ended on a rooftop. Felicia remembered the fall, the blood, the whispers. Not again!
Felicia bolted toward the building. The elevator was stuck. "Damn it!" she swore, sprinting for the stairwell. Her legs burned as she took the steps two at a time, gasping for breath, pushing herself to reach the rooftop in time to save Carmen.