Kia laughed as the sticks tumbled out of his hand again. “Here, let me,” she said. He let her manipulate his hands so the sticks were held in place. “Now you just-” She put her own sticks in her hand and snapped the ends together.Wren tried, but the ends slipped right past each other and they tumbled to the table again. “I don’t think this method of eating is right for me,” Wren admitted.“You just need practice. Try again!”So Wren did. Time and again the chopsticks fell to the table and Kia patiently explained how to hold them again. When he finally managed to pick up a piece of food with them, she threw her head back and laughed in delight. Wren grinned in response, and even though the hunk of food fell to his plate before he could get it in his mouth, he counted it as a win.“Told you you could do it,” Kia said. Her head tilted to the side and Wren focused in on what she was listening

Rose woke for a moment as Frank got out of bed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She rolled over and drifted back to sleep. She couldn’t sleep long, and after years of the same routine, her body wouldn’t let her sleep in much longer anyway.She rose with the sun. Her hands moved on autopilot as they braided her hair and twisted it up out of the way. A swipe of lipstick and a string of pearls around her neck completed her process and she stepped out of the bedroom into the quiet house. The smell of coffee, kept warm for her, reached her as she descended the stairs.It was too chilly in the mornings still to sit outside with her morning cup, so instead she took it in the living room and flipped on the news. Her heart sank as the television played a clip of Jackson’s father speaking and she reached for the phone instinctively, but paused. Jackson would want some time to process it himself before talking to others. The least she could do is give

Weeks passed. They bought a second bus. Jackson worked out a deal with the community college. After several days of individualized testing, they started hosting free evening classes for the wolves in his care. The second bus took the wolves there and brought them back home. They bought a small apartment block, and four separate wolf families were ready to start living on their own, with minor assistance, there. Liam and Zain were in charge of helping those families.Their team expanded. Four therapists were in their hotel at any given time. Some teachers had gotten word of what they were doing and offered to start working with the younger wolves so they could potentially join the public school in the fall. Dentists were offering free first cleanings and checkups.Jackson had several spreadsheets keeping track of every single wolf’s progress and schedules. He didn’t go on any more border runs. He didn’t have the time, and since he didn’t go, Wren

The channel five news anchor was happy to have him back on. Jackson announced their march that was planned at the end of the week. Channel five promised to have reporters there for a livestream of the march and announced their full support of the movement.Donations poured in. Jackson had more things than ever to do. Someone, somewhere, always needed something. The march was quickly approaching and he was stressed out. He was sitting in the lobby going over the next day’s schedules again and trying to respond to the non-stop emails, when he heard Wren’s low chuckle behind him. He glanced back.Wren looked delectable. He wore snug jeans and a tight long sleeved shirt. Jackson took a moment to enjoy watching Wren when Wren didn’t know he was watching. He was smiling easily down at his little sister. She was telling some kind of story and making wide motions with her arms as she did. Wren’s mom and brother walked behind them. They were listening to

They mingled. Jackson shook countless hands. Laughed with people as he passed them by. The crowd bubbled around him and let him through easily. Kia held tight to one hand as she pulled him forward through the crowd. “Come on!”She shoved him up onto a truck bed, then pushed him higher so he was standing on the cab. A megaphone was shoved in his hand. He gripped it tight and stood up straight. In the most surreal moment of his life, the crowd in front of him stilled and grew silent without a word from him. Hundreds of people. Thousands of people? A lot of people, quiet and staring at him. Jackson lifted his chin and raised his hand in a wave.“Are you ready?”There was a murmur of assent through the crowd.“Please, march quietly. We ask that this be a time to reflect. A time to ask ourselves what else we can do for those oppressed in Oconee. If you’re religious, use this time to pray for our neighbors. If you’re no