The days had settled into a kind of quiet rhythm; familiar, but different. Like the same melody played in a new key.
Winter had come softly this year. No dramatic snowfalls or biting winds, just a slow folding inward. The garden turned to bare branches and crisp air, and the sun dipped lower each day, but inside the house, everything felt... full. Warm, even in stillness.
With the last drugs from chemo finally getting out of Edward's system not long before the wedding, something on him had visibly eased. He didn't talk about it much, and we didn't press. But he smiled more. He let Mark tease him again. He watched the wind move through the trees like it mattered.
I could see that he felt freer now. No more chemo. No more long appointments or clipped medical briefings. Just comfort now.
Just peace.
