Thelma POV
We headed back to the car, and the moment Charlie turned the ignition and eased the vehicle onto the road, I felt an unexpected heaviness settle inside my chest.
It was subtle, but unmistakable. A part of me didn’t want to leave not yet. There was something about the place we had just come from that felt grounding, as though it had reached into parts of me I didn’t often acknowledge.
I held the small cage carefully in my hands, resting it on my lap as the car bounced gently along the uneven road.
The countryside stretched endlessly before us, lush and vibrant, painted in shades of green I had only ever seen in magazines or nature documentaries. Tall trees stood proudly on both sides of the road, their leaves whispering softly whenever the wind passed through them.
From tim
