Elara's POV
I slept until ten the next morning, which was the longest I had slept in over a week. The house was quiet when I came downstairs. Mom stood at the stove making eggs and the radio played something low in the background and for one disorienting moment everything felt completely normal. Like none of it had happened. Like I had just woken up late on a Saturday and the biggest problem in the room was whether we had enough bread for toast.
Then my shoulder pulled when I reached for the coffee and I remembered all of it.
Mom looked over. "Sit down. I will bring it to you."
I sat at the kitchen table and looked out the window at the yard. The morning light was flat and pale. A bird landed on the fence and left again. I watched it go.
Mom set coffee and eggs in front of me and sat
