She leaned back, letting the breeze brush past her face. The town that once felt like a strange stopover now felt like home. The quiet didn’t scare her anymore. It held her. The past still existed, sure—but it didn’t sting like it used to.
As she watched Pablo hop around and nibble the flowers on the bushes, she heaved a sigh of content . The world felt gentle again, for once, the quiet hum of life around her lulling her into a peace she hadn’t realized she still craved.
Without warning, a high-pitched screech cut through the calm. Samantha jolted upright, coffee sloshing down her wrist as her heart jumped into her throat. Windows up and down the block slid open. Neighbors leaned out, scanning the skies, trying to figure out what had just broken the peaceful morning.
Above the rooftops, an eagle circled in wide, powerful arcs, its wings casting long shadows across the yards. Then, in one swift motion, it dove. Samantha barely pushed back her chair before she saw it—Pablo lifted off the ground, a flash of white rising rapidly into the sky.