The storm rolled in just past midnight, lightning splintering the sky into shards. The town locked its doors. But at the edge of the hill, something ancient stirred.
The willow trembled.
A final bolt of lightning struck not with destruction, but revelation.
Its bark split open, peeling away like skin. Beneath it was a hollow wide enough for two children to crawl inside. The wind died. Silence fell.
Liora and Jalen entered together, their fingers brushing the moss-lined edges.
Inside was a chamber of stone, curved like a womb. At the center lay two objects on a flat slab simple gold rings.
Dianne and Jimma's.
Still warm.
Jalen reached first, lifting his ring with trembling hands. Liora followed. And in that instant, the air shimmered.
A rush of images overtook them the swing of Dianne's white dress, the rumble of Jimma's laughter, a firelit wedding with wildflowers in their hair.
Their breath caught. And then… they remembered.
Liora fell to her knees, clutching the ring to her chest. "It was us. It's always been us."
Jalen knelt beside her, tears falling freely. "And it always will be."
Outside, the storm cleared. Stars blinked awake.
Inside, two souls finally found their names again.