The first winter without searching went by quietly for Sebastian. For six years, he felt a constant ache to keep moving, looking for something that used to be there. But this year, the snow fell early, and for the first time, he didn’t send anyone into the woods. He didn’t make new maps. It was just silence.
Letting go wasn’t one big moment. It started when he didn’t go out to check for tips in the mail. For the first seven days, he didn’t ask strangers questions. One morning, he woke up and realized he hadn’t dreamed of her voice the night before.
He also saw Alexa’s face in the council room more often now. He couldn’t stand it. It wasn’t that she was cruel, she wasn’t. It was because she was patient. And her patience meant she planned to wait out his sadness.
The council was quiet fo
