Chapter 22 — You Saved My Life

There was one quiet autumn afternoon, near the end, that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Marcus was sitting in his favorite armchair by the living room window, wrapped in a warm blanket, watching Lily play outside in the falling leaves, and I was sitting near him, and the light was gold, and the house was still.

He reached out his left hand, the one that still answered him, and he found mine and squeezed it, and he said, very quietly, “Thank you, Clara.” His voice was faint by then, but it was steady, and it was entirely his own.