Monamour - Nn -

Nina Nesbitt, known to the world simply as "NN," turned the envelope over in her calloused hands. She was a sculptor of heavy things—marble, granite, rusted iron. Delicate paper felt alien. She used a letter opener like a scalpel.

Nina stepped closer. Her breath fogged the cold surface. Monamour - NN

Then she saw it. Not a random block. A figure, barely freed from the stone. A woman’s profile, half-emerged, eyes closed as if in deep sleep. The hair was a tangle of carved curls. The mouth was slightly parted, as if about to whisper. Nina Nesbitt, known to the world simply as

“You came,” said a voice behind her. She used a letter opener like a scalpel

Not a ghost. Not a memory.

Nina’s throat closed. It was her. At seven years old. With her mother, Elena, who had disappeared twenty years ago, leaving behind only a half-finished sculpture of a bird with broken wings.