After my husband threw me out of the house after our divorce, I took the old bank card my father had left behind and used it at a branch in the U.S., sending the whole bank lobby into a stir as the staff hurriedly called the manager over, and the words “Look at the name on this account!” revealed a family secret I had never known.

“Quacy, please.”

He just looked at her blankly, then turned around and walked toward the elevator.

Up above, near the mezzanine railing, Zelica could see Aniya’s silhouette, watching her victory.

The heavy glass door of the lobby hissed shut behind Zelica, separating her from the life of the last ten years. She was thrown onto the busy sidewalk under the Atlanta sky, which was starting to darken, with only a duffel bag of old clothes and the divorce papers that insulted her.

Night fell quickly in Atlanta. The streetlights began to flicker on, but for Zelica, the whole world seemed dark.

She walked aimlessly. The sound of honking horns from the heavy traffic on Peachtree sounded like roars in her ears. She had nowhere to go. Her mother in Alabama was still in recovery. She couldn’t add the weight of this news to her mother’s burden.

Her feet carried her to Centennial Olympic Park. She sat on one of the empty benches, staring at the skyline. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since morning.