-Elaine-
The kitchen was warm, filled with the comforting scent of fresh muffins baking in the oven and the rich fragrance of tea brewing. Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, spilling across the wooden table in soft golden patches. I sat quietly, hands wrapped around my cup, listening as Helen spoke. Her voice was calm, steady, but beneath it I could hear the faint trace of sorrow, as though the memories she carried were too heavy to ever fully set down.
“The boys were pretty shook up at first,” she said, her eyes growing distant. “But after a while… they came to accept that we were giving them a permanent home. Kave especially seemed happy to finally be settled. Both boys were grateful for the smallest things we did for them. They never said anything outright, but it was pla
