Chapter 29 - College Move-In
Lily chose respiratory therapy.
Then changed to biomedical engineering.
Then changed back.
Then decided she wanted to design pediatric emergency devices that did not look terrifying.
Anna told her changing majors was normal.
Lily said, “I am not changing. I am refining.”
Thomas did not exist in this story, but if he had, he would have approved that sentence.
Move-in day was chaotic.
The dorm had no elevator.
Daniel carried boxes.
Anna carried the medical kit.
Lily carried the yellow worried dinosaur, pretending it was a design reference and not emotional support.
Dana and her wife mailed a first-aid kit.
Ryan sent a keychain shaped like an ambulance.
Dr. Hart sent a laminated note:
Use your medicine. Call early. Sleep sometimes.
Nora mailed snacks.
Benji mailed a dragon sticker for Lily’s laptop.
Claire and Mason sent a Kitchen Drawer mini-kit, travel version.
Lily lined everything on the dorm desk.
Her roommate, Ava, walked in and stared.
“Are you a medic?”
Lily smiled.
“Not yet.”
Anna felt something inside her loosen.
Not all the way.
Maybe never all the way.
But enough.
They set up the bed.
Hung posters.
Placed the action plan inside the closet door because Lily still believed visibility could coexist with privacy.
Anna checked the inhaler pouch once.
Then stopped herself before checking twice.
Lily noticed.
“Growth.”
Anna rolled her eyes.
“Do not parent me on a campus.”
“Too late.”
At the parking lot, Anna held herself together until Lily hugged her.
Then both of them cried.
Daniel looked respectfully at a tree.
Lily whispered, “I’m allowed to breathe without you listening.”
Anna nodded against her hair.
“Yes.”
“And you’re allowed to sleep without checking.”
Anna laughed through tears.
“Ambitious.”
Lily pulled back.
Her eyes were wet but bright.
“If I need you, I’ll call. If I’m scared, I’ll tell somebody. If I’m wheezy, I’ll use medicine. If someone says I’m dramatic, I’ll send them Dr. Hart’s number and a strongly worded PDF.”
Anna smiled.
“Good plan.”
Lily lifted two fingers to her chest.
Their newer signal.
Not emergency.
Presence.
Anna returned it.
Daniel did too after a second, looking unsure but invited.
Lily laughed.
“Cute but weird.”
Then she walked toward the dorm.
Not away from danger.
Toward her own life.
Anna watched until the door closed.
Then she breathed.
Loudly.
On purpose.
Daniel looked at her.
“You okay?”
Anna wiped her face.
“No.”
May you like
Then smiled.
“But yes.”
