Afterglow Series #1: Where the Light Once Was

Phoebe Soleil Mendez has always been the light in other people's lives. Like the sun her name carries, she brightens every room she enters, warming hearts, lifting spirits, and reminding everyone that hope still exists even in the darkest days. To many, she is a miracle in human form-a girl whose smile can chase away the shadows.

But what people do not see is the quiet weight she carries behind that radiant smile.

Being everyone's sunshine means she must hide her own storms. Every laugh she gives, every comfort she offers, and every hand she holds slowly adds to the burden she carries alone.

Until Dawn Anthony Madrigal appears.

With patience as steady as the morning sky, Dawn learns to carry the weight Phoebe has been hiding for so long. He holds her sorrow with gentle light, listens to the emotions she never dared to speak, and loves her the way she loves the world-with warmth, care, and unwavering devotion.

For a while, life feels like endless daylight. Laughter fills the quiet spaces, and love shines like a sun that never sets.
But time has a way of changing even the brightest skies.

And sometimes, the places that once held the most light are the same places that slowly turn into memories.

Memories of where the light once was.