The Named Price

Elena woke at noon with sunlight striping her blinds and a hole in her head shaped like a beginning.

She knew, the way you know your own address, that Theo Park was her best friend. She did not know why — when she reached for the why, her mind slid off it like a hand off wet glass. Smooth. Clean. Nothing to hold.

She texted the group chat: *It's gone. All of it.*

Theo replied in seconds: *Yeah.*