Epilogue
BENNETT
T he years haven't softened the mountain, but they’ve certainly changed the man who lives in its shadow.
I stand on the porch of our expanded cottage, the wood under my boots solid and warm from the late afternoon sun.
From here, I can see the valley stretching before us, the winding road through Hollow Peak, the vibrant patch of green that is the town square, and the golden light reflecting off the windows of the best bakery in the county: Acacia’s Hearth it’s only been a few weeks since we found out, but I can feel the change in her.
The new life growing inside her, a sibling for Lily, another piece of the future we built out of the storm.
"We're getting there, Bennett," she whispers, her eyes locking onto mine. "One beautiful step at a time."
I lean down and kiss her, a deep, grounding kiss that tastes of our past and our future.
Five years ago, I thought my life was over, that I was just waiting for the cold to take me.
I was a man who lived for survival. Now, I’m a man who lives for the sound of a preschooler’s laughter and the sight of flour on his wife’s nose.
As the sun begins to dip behind the peaks, casting long, purple shadows over our land, I lead my girls inside.
The cottage is warm, filled with the scent of a life well-lived and the promise of more to come.
I might have been a beast of the mountain once, but Acacia turned me into something better.
She gave me a reason to come in out of the cold.
"I love you, little bird," I murmur as I close the door, locking the world away.
"I love you more, Bennett," she replies. I’m reminded once again that I’m exactly where I belong.
* * *
THE END