The room filled with a soft yellow light.

Nothing spectacular happened.

Nobody announced that every wound was healed.

But for Hannah, who had spent nights studying the shadows on a car ceiling, a lamp in her own living room felt like a promise she could finally believe.

PART 13
The Christmas Photograph

Early in January, Ruth invited Hannah and Sophie to a Sunday lunch.

Hannah almost refused.

She was afraid of becoming a story strangers told each other about their own generosity.