I ARRIVED AT MY BEACH HOUSE EXPECTING PEACE-YILUX

soften it, because I needed him to understand that some things had to be rebuilt, not assumed.

He nodded again, then stepped outside, closing the door gently behind him, leaving me alone in the quiet that had once felt like peace.

I stood there for a long moment, listening, feeling the house settle around me, as if it too was deciding whether it could continue reading …