LOGINAvaIt had rained overnight, and someone had tried to tidy the garden before the service, but it still smelled like wet stone and the old roots that never came out no matter how much you weeded.The ground near the east fountain was raw and scraped, black soil against the green in a way that made it
HildaBy the third try, my knuckles should have stopped stinging, but the ache only got worse. I rested my fist against the painted wood and rapped again, sharper, letting the echo do whatever guilt-tripping it pleased.No answer. Not even a creak.I rolled my shoulders, glanced left and right, then
EvelynThe morning after, everything was too bright. Sunlight hit the glass at the far end of the hallway and staggered through every shadow that dared linger, as if daring the house to pretend nothing had changed.I stood in the gray rectangle of Thomas's door, one hand on the frame, letting my bod
He shook his head, or tried. Blood ran down his chin, dripped onto his chest, but his eyes were clear. “Don’t waste it,” he rasped. “I’m done here. I can feel it.”I turned to the woman. “You said she can fix this,” I managed, voice not quite my own. “Ava. You said she can heal him. You’re sure?”Ev
“Let him,” I said. “It’s not an airway issue.”He coughed again, the sound lower, more like a plea. Blood flecked his chin and the hollow of his neck, trailing into the blue veins that now mapped his entire upper body. He looked drowned.I eased a hand behind his shoulders, propping him up so the bl
EvelynThe sound of my daughter’s scream cracked down the hallway, and then the only thing left was the silence. Even the machines seemed to pause for it.I watched the digital pulse rolling steady over Thomas’s shoulder, still green, still regular, still alive. But it felt borrowed—like the numbers







