Epilogue III

Maren

(A Few Years Later )

Jude discovers fire the same way he discovers everything else.

Accidentally. Enthusiastically. With absolutely no concern for my blood pressure.

I turn just in time to see him crouched near the old stone firepit behind the house, chubby hands outstretched, eyes wide with wonder as a flicker of flame curls upward like it’s greeting an old friend.

“Jude,” I say, carefully