Chapter 14 - Noah’s Question
One evening Noah found me on the porch.
"Are you leaving the Army?"
I looked at him.
"I don't know."
"Do you want to?"
That was harder.
For twenty years, service had been part of my identity.
But identities can become cages if we never allow them to change.
"I want to be here."
"For me?"
"For us."
He nodded.
Then asked:
"Do you miss commanding Rangers?"
"Every day."
"Then wouldn't leaving make you sad?"
Sometimes children ask the question adults spend years avoiding.
"Maybe."
He sat beside me.
"You told me strength isn't about looking tough."
"I did."
"Maybe being strong doesn't mean you have to give up everything either."
I smiled.
"When did you become wise?"
"Internet."
"Then apparently technology has redeemed itself."
May you like
He laughed.
And for the first time since Kestrel returned, our porch felt peaceful again.
