From that day, an unwritten rule governed Marigold Bakery — before you accuse, ask; before you judge, listen; and if someone is carrying a heavy load, don’t guess what’s inside.

Just help them carry it.

She thought about the symmetry of it for a long time after, the way the two suitcases bookended a year of her life.

The first one she had carried alone, in secret, ashamed, hauling her family’s survival home through the dark while her employer watched and suspected.

The second one she packed in the open, in an office that was hers, with her name on the door, for a stranger she would help the way she had once needed helping.

Same bag, near enough.