Shaking her head even as a single tear spilled over her cheek, Jasmine wished she had been able to come see her grandmother before she died. Hitting the stop button, she stood as the lights came back on. She could do this for her grandmother. A journey. ‘Twould be fun.

She repeated that mantra while Mr. Howe handed her a thick, sealed, manila envelope. Jasmine even whispered it to herself in the ride to her hotel, through the check-in process, and on her way to her room. Once she was alone, she elected to take a much needed nap before reading the contents of the envelope and repeated her mantra: “It’ll be a journey. It’ll be fun.” Until she fell asleep.When she awakened ten hours later, it was with fresh eyes. Realizing she had slept the day away, Jasmine got up and took a long shower, marveling at how good it was to wash away the airline stench. Once she was done, she got dressed and after a glance at the envelope, decided to go grab a bite first. After all, that packet had waited years for her. It could wait another couple hours.