I could not bring them back.

But I could make certain that their loss became the reason other families did not lose theirs, that out of the very worst thing that ever happened to me, something enduring and good would grow, in their name, forever.

“Thank you, Caleb,” I said.

“For everything.

For standing between him and my bed when the lights went out.” “I was just doing my job,” he replied, though his eyes held a deep and unspoken respect.

“You were the one who fought your way back from the edge of that rug.”