Chapter 1
My body felt heavy in a way that was almost peaceful. Not the exhaustion of deadlines and relentless ambition, but something gentler, softer. I had spent the entire night awake with Katie and Kylie, our voices tangled together in laughter and confession, the kind of conversation that leaves you drained yet somehow replenished. Now, sitting in the Dubai metro station, I finally had permission to simply exist.
But the moment I descended into the station, the temperature shifted. The scorching heat of the streets above gave way to artificial cold, and I found myself shivering despite the warmth I had just escaped. Around me, the station thrummed with relentless energy. Announcements crackled overhead in Arabic, then English, their voices overlapping and competing for attention. Metal doors screeched open with mechanical urgency, and people surged forward in waves, clutching lunch bags and leather briefcases, their movements sharp and purposeful. There was no leisurely stroll here. They ran. They pushed. They moved as though some invisible force propelled them toward something desperately important.
I watched this unfold with a strange detachment. The doors opened. The crowd rushed. The doors closed. Silence for a moment. Then it began again.
And somewhere in that repetition, something crystallised inside me.
Was this it? Was this what living was supposed to feel like?
Eight years of chasing success. Two years of losing herself. One moment that changed everything.
THE AWAKENING SOUL — Coming Soon on Inkitt Follow to be notified when the first chapter drops.
