Page 142 of Last Light

“We all live our lives in just a snapshot of time. Maybe it was never the sun setting on us. Maybe it was always the sunrise.”

He moves his coffee cup into his left hand so he can twine his fingers with mine. “I think maybe it was.”

We don’t say anything else. We don’t need to.

We sip our coffee—an indulgence I thought was gone for good—and watch as the sun moves higher in the hazy sky. The deep purple lightens, brightens, transforms into blue.

I was wrong. I know that now.

The world was never ending.

What I assumed was the last light of the sun was always my beginning.

Epilogue

One year later

THE AUGUST DAY IS HOTand muggy, and I’m at that point in summer when I’m dreaming of autumn. I’m tired, dirty, and sweating beneath my clothes. Travis is speeding over a bumpy mountain trail, and the Jeep is shaking steadily, bouncing my body, my braids, my insides.

“Can you please slow down a little?” I ask at last, holding on to the support bar and breathing deeply to dispel a wave of nausea.

“Sorry.” Travis slows down dramatically and shoots me a worried look. “You feelin’ sick?”

“I’m not feeling sick. I just don’t need to be bounced around quite so much.”

He slants me a teasing glance. “Thought you liked to be bounced around.”

“Not in the car.” I’m trying not to laugh but not doing a very good job. “In bed it’s different.”

“Ah. Got it.” His smile fades slightly. “Didn’t mean to make you carsick. Just ready to be home.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

We’ve been away from our little house for almost two weeks, which is the longest we’ve been gone for the past year. The trip went well. We helped escort a group of about fifty seniors who needed to be moved to a safer location, and everything went smoothly with no real danger and no injuries other than sunburn and heat exhaustion. Travis and I have become a regular part of Mack’s network of helpers, and doing jobs like that always makes me feel like I’m contributing in a valuable way.

But two weeks is a long time to be away from home and on edge about possible danger. I’ll be happy to be back.

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