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Chapter 3: A Room Bare, A Life Beginning September 2011, Dublin Joelle awoke to soft gray light filtering gently through gauzy curtains, the kind of Irish morning that felt as though it had been waiting patiently for her arrival. Her body ached from travel and the unfamiliar mattress beneath her, yet she didn’t mind. For…
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Chapter 2: Across an Ocean, Into Herself September 2011, Dublin Joelle stepped onto the uneven cobblestones of Grafton Street, instantly feeling out of place yet curiously at ease. Her suitcase, heavy with books and sweaters she doubted she’d need, rattled behind her. The air was damp, scented with rain and something indescribably comforting. She paused,…
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Chapter 1: The Art of Arriving July 2025, Washington, D.C. The oppressive humidity hung thickly in the air, cloaking Washington D.C. in a familiar midsummer haze. Joelle loosened the collar of her blouse as she leaned back against the balcony railing, her eyes drifting toward the Capitol dome in the distance—an ironic reminder of how…
only after everything 