Complications

*Raven*

Melany and I spend the entire day together, and I even have the opportunity to meet her mother, Anya. She invites me to dinner, which I happily accept, not eager to go back to my empty home. When I do eventually leave very late that evening, I realize that the ache of being away from Kieran has been survivable today.

I think of my mother and how she’s had to push through the pain of being separated from my father. She managed to survive these last 20 years without him, and I know it’s because of this community. It’s such a stark difference from the coldness and backbiting in Dun’s Crossing. There’s a genuine warmth and comraderie among all of the people here. I’m sure it would exist even if the war hadn’t forced them underground. There’s a true kindness here that cannot be fak……