Chapter 991

Grace stepped forward and spoke the vow: "We remember with freedom." She untied a ribbon and let it swirl into the current. The watchers responded with arcs of light. Now scripts of rebirth replaced those of burden.

Children gathered drift-glass from wreckage, sliding them down into watery pools. The watchers guided the children's hands toward smooth blue shards, lighting each shard in mist before it touched their palms. Grace watched them laugh as they learned the watchers scolded no one. That was freedom, too.

Jude carved the words Memory Is Freedom into a tide-washed boulder. Watchers traced his lines with mist before they glowed under morning sun. The wives tied ribbons along the rock's fringe. They dipped them into salty waves and untied them, letting string drift slowly to sea.