ACCEPTANCE

The world hushed around them.

The only sound was the soft rustle of blossoms stirred by the breeze, the faint catch of their breaths as they held on to each other. Words had emptied out. There was nothing left to say that grief hadn’t already said for them.

So they sat.

Shoulder to shoulder. Heart to heart.

Kael’s fingers clutched at Alaric’s tunic like a lifeline, and Alaric’s arm circled him, steady, anchoring. Their bodies trembled with the aftershocks of mourning, but slowly, slowly the sobs dulled into silence.

The sun dipped.

The sky blushed, then dimmed, then deepened into velvet black. They didn’t notice. They couldn’t feel time.

Until the first glow sparked.

And then another.

And another.

Fireflies. Dozens, then hundreds, rising out of the grass and hovering in a shifting veil of golden-green light over the mound where their son lay. The blossoms shimmered under their glow, the tiny lights flickering as if answering some unseen call.

Alaric’s throat burned as he leaned closer