A Forbidden Taste

You uncork the vial. The gold liquid touches your tongue—and the world blooms. Warmth floods your chest like sunlight you've never been allowed to feel. Colors sharpen. The grey walls of your apartment seem suddenly absurd, like a cruel joke played on every person you've ever known.

You think of your mother's tired smile, your father's hollow eyes, your grandmother's quiet hands. This is what was stolen. This was what they lived without.

The vial trembles between your fingers. One drop remains. One choice.