The silence of the night had begun to settle over the house like a heavy shroud. Outside, the dark sky seemed to mirror Celina’s state of mind as she walked back toward the bedroom, her heart weighed down after speaking with Mrs. Sara in the kitchen. The old woman’s tender words still echoed in her head, but they were drowned out the moment she opened the door and found Thor restless in bed.

He tossed and turned in the sheets, his body shaking under the grip of a raging fever. Sweat streamed do