XVI

“On my left shoulder, there’s a phoenix inked into my skin. Between the wingtips are the words: ‘I will rise again.’ It’s not just a tattoo—it’s a truth I live by. Writing used to be my escape. Now, it’s my healing. Valik’s story is loosely based on my own journey—through trauma, therapy, poetry, and love. I don’t write to romanticize pain. I write to show that healing is possible. That rising is possible. That you, too, can rise again.”