Three full days passed with no pull from the ground and the silence started to feel like its own kind of weight.
I woke before Julian on the fourth morning. The blooms above our grove let in soft gold light. His arm was still heavy across my stomach. I lay still and listened. Nothing. No hum. No restless heat from any path. Just birds and distant voices starting the day.
Julian stirred. “You are awake early.”
“Could not sleep more. The quiet is still here.”
“Good.” He kissed the back of my shoulder. “Means we did the work right.”
We rose and dressed without hurry. Outside the grove the air was already warm. People moved along the paths with tools and baskets. No one looked tense.
Neri met us near the new pool. She was knee deep in the water, checking the stone edges.
“Morning,” she
