A Hot Afternoon in Dallas

The late afternoon sun blazed over a quiet Dallas street. Heat shimmered on the asphalt as cars sped by, their drivers hidden in cool air-conditioned cabins, cut off from the world outside.

On the sidewalk, a young woman stumbled forward, clutching a worn canvas bag to her chest like it was her last anchor. Her name was Maya Thompson, thirty-two years old, homeless, and fighting with every ounce of strength to keep moving—for the sake of her two-year-old twins, Eli and Grace, who held tightly to her hands.