scent, usually a comfort, now felt cloying, suffocating. Carly, bless her heart, tried to inject so

ang, her voice a little to

hand trembling slightly.

always be here, Elva, always." Her eyes darted to Finn, then quic

le thing. "Always," I echo

ntrast to the ice in my chest. My wish wasn't for me. It was

y obscuring their faces, blurring their features into indistinct s

no overwhelming joy, no easy laughter. Each mo

against Finn's. He flinched, pulling his hand back too quickl

alarm. She immediately grabbed his hand, her fingers

ess that bypassed me entirely. Then, as if remembering I was there, t

a symbol of belonging. For years, I hadn't had a proper birthday cake. Finn and Carly had changed that. They had given me so many things I

my mind. Their happiness. Their freedom. I repeated it

it away, replacing it with my practiced smile. "Let's cut the cak

leave. I w

in my pocket. A new email.

rogram. Subject: Congr

of my escape route. The multi-year, remote environmenta

I had a lifetime of experience in that department. The Arctic, with its vast, unforgiving emptiness,

My fingers, though trembling,

on. A flicker of doubt, a ghost of a memory, tugged at my heart. I

desk. The old journaling app. I clicked on it

," Finn had called it. I scrolled through old

Finn read, "You make my world bright

love that felt so real, so true. I closed my