Marea sat cross-legged on her bed, eyes fixed on her phone as notifications popped up in rapid succession. Her mother called from the kitchen, but the noise from the street and her screen drowned out everything else. The world beyond her window felt distant, a blur of activity she barely noticed.

Marea scrolled absentmindedly through social media, her plate untouched. Her father attempted conversation about school, but she barely looked up. "I'll finish my homework after dinner... Just one more video," she murmured, voice trailing off as she disappeared into her digital world.

Marea protested openly, clutching her phone as if it were a lifeline. "Why do we have to go? There’s nothing in the village for me," she complained, frowning at the prospect of leaving her screens behind. With no room for negotiation, she reluctantly followed her parents out the door.

Marea stepped outside, her phone finally silent. Boredom pressed upon her, the silence unfamiliar and uncomfortable. She wandered aimlessly, but something gentle in the wind caught her attention—a rhythm she had never noticed before.

Marea sat down on a sun-warmed stone, listening to the water’s soft murmur. She watched a flock of birds wheel overhead, the colors of their feathers vivid against the sky. "Is this what I’ve been missing?" she whispered to herself, feeling a calm settle over her heart for the first time in years.