Chapter 230 — The Return

The return felt different from the very first second.

There were no rushed goodbyes. No promises tossed into the air the way there had been the first time. This time, there were long embraces, silences that didn’t hurt, and gazes filled with calm, as if everyone finally understood that some goodbyes don’t mean an ending.

They mean continuation.

As if life, too, knew when to let go without breaking.

When to release without losing.

Elián hugged them tightly, with the kind