Chapter 16 - The Morning After the War Ended
Eva woke before sunrise.
For several seconds she did not remember.
Then she did.
Tyler was gone.
Actually gone.
She walked outside.
Aleandro was sitting on the porch steps.
“You didn’t sleep,” she said.
“Neither did you.”
She sat beside him.
After a long silence, Eva began crying.
Aleandro started to reach for her.
Then stopped.
“Can I?”
The question broke something inside her.
Eva nodded.
Aleandro wrapped his arms around her.
She pressed her face against his chest.
Not because she needed rescue.
Because she chose comfort.
There was a difference.
A profound one.
“I kept waiting for this day,” Eva whispered. “I thought I’d feel different.”
“How do you feel?”
“Sad.”
Aleandro understood.
Freedom did not erase what had happened.
It merely made healing possible.
“You don’t have to feel anything specific.”
Eva looked at him.
“When did you become wise?”
“I read two books this month.”
She laughed through tears.
Aleandro smiled.
May you like
Morning sunlight reached the vineyard.
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