Minh woke up in a world shattered and broken, where every step pierced the heart of fractured memories he could never soothe. Dust blanketed the air, each tiny particle like shards of sharp glass reflecting the faint light of a distant past.
Linh stood beside him, her eyes deep as the dark ocean, carrying the sorrow of things lost-things that could never be held again. She didn't need many words; a single glance was enough to let Minh know she was the harbor he could return to amidst the chaotic sea of pain and loneliness.
Minh recalled simple moments that once brought warmth: the laughter ringing in his family's home, soft sunlight streaming through a window, promises left unspoken and undone. Now, all that remained were glittering fragments-sharp and beautiful-embedded deep within his mind, stabbing with every heartbeat.
Together they walked through abandoned cities, where time seemed frozen, buildings dust-covered and silent witnesses to a world's decay. With every step, Minh felt the fragility of life and the strange immortality of memory-a tiny light flickering in the endless dark.
Linh gently clasped Minh's hand, steady and firm, as if passing him an invisible strength-a power of faith and resilience. "Even if the world falls apart, the memories remain," she whispered, her voice blending with the wind's sigh, "We must hold onto them, hold onto who we are."
In that quiet moment, Minh realized their journey was not just about survival but about mending the shattered pieces of the past, transforming pain into strength, and never losing their true selves amidst the ever-changing tides of life.