Float

The Florida sun beat down with an unfamiliar intensity, a stark contrast to the familiar grey of city sidewalks. Waverly squinted, pulling her suitcase along the cracked pavement of her aunt's driveway, the scent of salt and unfamiliar foliage filling her lungs.
Her aunt's house, a quaint cottage with peeling paint and an overgrown garden, felt alien. Inside, boxes were stacked in the living room, a temporary monument to her parents' fractured lives.
"Waverly, dear!" Aunt Sarah's voice, warm and welcoming, broke through the quiet. "You made it!" She enveloped Waverly in a hug, a gesture both comforting and overwhelming. Waverly managed a weak smile, her gaze drifting to a faded photograph on the mantelpiece—a younger Aunt Sarah, laughing with someone she didn't recognize. This was going to be a long summer.