Sirius' POV
Buckbeak was tireless. He'd been chained down for so long that feeling the wind beneath his wings gave him such joy. He carried me out of the country and flew all the way to a tropical location. The sun was much stronger here. After so many years in the darkness and fog of Azkaban, it felt physically scorching on the skin and seemed to burn my eyes. But the ample sun and healthy winds eventually came to favor me, and I felt much stronger after a few days. I made rounds as a dog to beg for food. Even here, I couldn't risk showing myself. I also didn't have any money. Buckbeak and I found a large enough shelter in the mountains and I slept under his wing.
I managed to steal a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink over a couple of days. I wrote a letter to Harry. I had a hard time finding an owl that was willing to go all the way to Scotland, but eventually, a small, overenergetic bird volunteered itself. I looked at it skeptically, wondering if it was up for the flight. I hesitated, and looked over at a large, powerful brown owl besides it. The large owl resolutely turned its back on me. I finally gave the letter to the small bird and watched him take off into the sky.
By now, it had been a few weeks, and I could tell that Buckbeak was itching to go. It was a bit too hot for Buckbeak here. He preferred forest weather – damp and cool, with a little wind. I petted his neck. "We'll leave tomorrow," I said. Buckbeak nuzzled my hand and then bowing down his great head, closed his eyes and began to sleep.
Sitting down against the cave wall, I reached into the makeshift pocket I'd made of my Azkaban robes and fished out a key. It was a duplicate, I knew, and it would likely wear out or disappear in a couple weeks. Even now, the sharpness of its edges was fading.
I hesitated. Why did she give me this?
Remus had come and saved me in the Shrieking Shack. Dumbledore had come to speak with me when I was locked in the castle. But Raylynx had never come… In some respects, I was thankful for that. I didn't want her to see me like this. I was a shadow of the man I once was. And then, when I had swallowed my pride and gone to her, it had been clear to me that she now had someone else in her life.
So, then – why was she giving this to me? I sighed. I already knew my answer. It was the same reason she, without knowing anything, had yelled at me not to hurt Remus in his werewolf form. It was the same reason she'd let him stay at her house for a long time even though she never had feelings for him. It was the same reason I'd fallen for her in the first place. It was because she was kind. My hand slowly closed around the key until it was a tight fist.
Remus' POV
I was back in Raylynx's house. Having been desperate to avoid the disparaging letters and scornful and pitying looks I'd started to receive once news got out about what I was, I'd left Hogwarts as soon as I could. Technically, the term was not yet over. Teachers were still grading exams, so the students were still at Hogwarts. Most of my exams had been practical, so I'd been able to grade them on the spot. The first years had had a written portion where they needed to spell out basic principles. And of course, the fifth years and seventh years had had their standardized O.W.L. and N.E.W.T exams. So, I was sitting at the kitchen table, grading exams for most of the day. I'd sent the exams back to the school once I'd finished.
I did need to go back to my old Muggle flat at some point. I'd taken the post at Hogwarts so quickly and had had to deal with my transformation right before leaving that I hadn't properly cleaned out the place. The landlord was begging me to come and take my stuff out, though he noted that the building was going down in about two weeks' time whether I collected my stuff or not. I didn't particularly care if the cheap table and chair were going to go down with the building or not, but I figured I'd better go fetch it to save myself the trouble of buying new furniture whenever I moved out of Raylynx's. And that small Christmas tree she'd gotten me was still there, so I figured it would only be decent to go and save it from the crane.
I scratched another "Full Marks" on a particularly well-written exam before turning over the next exam. I yawned. Perhaps I could finish this tomorrow…
I had taken up residence in the smallest room – the guest room. There was just a bed and a drawer. I felt most at home there. Last time, Raylynx had kindly coerced me to take the master bedroom where her parents used to live, and I'd been distinctly uncomfortable.
As I rubbed my eyes tiredly, I thought of what Raylynx might be doing now at Hogwarts. I missed Hogwarts already. It had been so wonderful to feel like a part of society. The staff, for the most part, were respectful of me. The students weren't afraid of me. And I had felt for the first time, like I had something to give – that I wasn't just a burden, that I really could be of some use to my students if only I tried. That was why I had been so determined to make my classes practical. I wanted every student to genuinely feel that they had learned something from me, regardless of whether they liked me or not.
And then, there were the day-to-day comforts that I never took for granted after Hogwarts: the comfort of knowing I could eat well everyday, the comfort of having a respectable, private bedroom to sleep in, and the comfort of being able to go a hospital wing that wouldn't rob me of my bank account and where Poppy didn't shy away from treating me like most Healers did when they learned I was a werewolf…
My eyes slipped shut. I had a hazy dream of being back at Hogwarts, of being young… I was with Peter, James, and Sirius… We were friends. Just friends. Playing around on the shores of the lake. Was it a dream? Not just a dream, but a memory. I was dreaming of my past.
"That's a grindylow!" I yelled, as one leapt out of the air to catch the messy cream cheese and lox bagel James was dangling over the air.
"Don't let it bite you!" Peter shrieked.
"Catch it! Catch it!" Sirius was yelling, racing over to James.
"Pads, don't!" I shouted. "You're going to-"
But Sirius had already lunged. Overeager, he made to grab it and missed. He and James fell straight into the Lake.
James, Sirius, and the grindylow were caught in a wild tussle in the water. The three of them splashed around angrily, trying to get each other off of each other. Finally, Sirius burst out of the lake, but James was nowhere to be seen.
In my mind, I heard my father's voice. "Remus, my boy, when it comes to grindylow, just remember - they're averse to tea." When I looked confused, he smiled and said, "Hot water. The trick to stunning them is hot water. It doesn't hurt them, but it does have a paralyzing effect on their half-reptilian skin. But now, here's another thing to remember - hot water isn't hot water in water. Light is hot water in water. And that leads me to an important point: challenging a creature in their own domain is always dangerous. Always. No matter how good you think you are, or how weak the creature is, if you mean to challenge them in their own environment, the disadvantage will always outweigh the advantage of your own preparedness."
I pulled out my wand and shouted, "Levium!" A jet of bright light shot out of my wand. It hit the water and then disappeared. Some ways away, James' head popped up out of the water. Sirius swam over to him as fast as he could and pulled James out.
Peter sprinted over and dropped to his knees besides James. "Not breathing!" he said worriedly, blinking furiously.
"Move!" Sirius pushed him aside and then, to my amazement, performed Muggle CPR.
Peter gaped at Sirius as he put his mouth on James' to breathe air into his lungs.
"Why- Why're you kissing him?" Peter asked. No explanation was necessary as, a moment later, James sat up and hacked water out of his lungs. Sirius and I fell back with relief.
James blinked. He reached for his wand, which was still in his jeans, thankfully. "Accio glasses," he murmured. His glasses flew out of the water and landed in his hand. He fished out a piece of seaweed caught on the frame before putting them back on. He looked up at Peter, then at me and Sirius, and blew out a breath. "I think the bagel was a bad call, mates. It should have been something tastier. Then, the grindylow wouldn't have gone for me."
"Yes," I said sarcastically, having immense difficulty in not rolling my eyes. "Yes, the bagel was clearly the problem."
"Don't be so sarcastic, Moony. You were the one who wanted to see the grindylow," James said, getting up.
"Yes, see it- not catch it. And I meant in my lifetime at some point- not now," I clarified.
Sirius grinned. "You can't wait for the good things in life, Moony. If you want something, you have to go for it."
"Like how you kissed Prongs?" Peter piped up suddenly.
James looked up at Sirius, who turned his head indignantly at Peter.
"I wasn't kissing him," Sirius said hotly. "I was saving his life. It's a Muggle technique-"
"I don't buy it," Peter said flatly, much to James' and my amusement. "I've heard from Diggory that you're the worst in our year at Muggle Studies. How would you know how to-?"
"Diggory, that prick-" Sirius started to mutter.
James clapped a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I don't mind it," he said cheerfully. "Not that I remember it, but I'm sure it was good. You're a good kisser, I'm a good kisser. So, we put together two blokes who kiss well. What could go wrong?"
"I said it wasn't a ki-" Sirius cut himself off and breathed in heavily, frustrated. Then, shaking his head, he decided to let it go.
"C'mon," I said, trying to interject some form of sense into conversation. "We've got to get going now to make curfew."
James and Sirius led the way back up to the school. We were following up behind them when Peter tugged on my robe. "Moony, Moony, hey – did you see the grindylow, though? It flew out of the water for a bit, didn't it?"
I smiled. "Yeah, Worm, I did. I did see it."
Woof! Woof, woof!
I jolted awake. There was a scratching sound at the door, like a flurry of paws, followed by a series of hurried barks.
I leapt to my feet and hurried to the door. Opening it, I found a large black dog outside. Looking down at it, I smiled wryly. "Well, well. If it isn't Snuffles."
Padfoot bounded in, and I shut the door behind him. Padfoot instantly transformed back into Sirius. He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Moony, I didn't realize you'd be here." Before I could respond, he said, "Listen, sorry to be so abrupt, but we've got to get Buckbeak in here before the Muggles notice."
My eyes bulged slightly in surprise. "Buckbeak? You have the hippogriff here? Where?"
"He's out back. I made him land in the backyard."
"Merlin, Sirius, we've got to get him in here quickly!"
We both raced towards the living room, which was connected with the backyard. Sure enough, Buckbeak was waiting outside, staring beadily inside the window.
Sirius shoved open the glass door and beckoned to Buckbeak. Buckbeak galloped up lightly and ducking his head and folding his wings neatly, he tried to squeeze through. Sirius had forgotten about the screen door, and Buckbeak ripped right through it. I sighed.
"Can't the door open any more?" Sirius said desperately. "He's stuck."
I tried to help, getting my arms around Buckbeak as much as I could and trying to pull him through. Buckbeak squawked in discomfort. "You are one hefty bird," I murmured as I tugged. Buckbeak's eyes swiveled over to me. Remembering what had happened to Draco Malfoy, I said quickly, "That's a compliment by the way. Hefty is erm – a term for elegant, staunchly, powerful…"
"Moony, will you stop talking to him and help me get him through?" Sirius asked, trying to slide his hand between Buckbeak's wing and the door to help slide him through.
Buckbeak squawked louder. It was not physically possible to get Buckbeak through. Hoping that this would not have any unintended effects, like breaking down the entire infrastructure of the house, I pulled out my wand, pointed it at the doorway and murmured, "Engorgio." The doorway expanded. Buckbeak fell through, and the abruptness of it all meant that Buckbeak dragged me and Sirius down with him.
I fell back besides Buckbeak. When I got up, I didn't see Sirius anywhere. I paused. "Padfoot? Where've you gone?"
"Check under the bird," came a squashed voice. I coaxed Buckbeak up and found Sirius groaning on the floor.
I pointed my wand at the wall again and murmured, "Reducio," reinstating it to its ordinary size before I said, "Reparo," fixing the screen. Then, I flicked my wand sideways and the curtains drew across so that the next-door neighbors wouldn't be able to look over and see inside the living room.
"Well done," Sirius said, clapping me on the shoulder.
Sirius looked much healthier than when I'd seen him at the Shrieking Shack. He wasn't anywhere near the large stature he'd been before Azkaban. In fact, he was still incredibly thin. But he no longer looked like a skeleton. His hair was still long, but no longer matted. And it looked like his skin had finally seen some fresh air and sunlight.
"Where is she?" Sirius asked me. He didn't look at me as he asked, nor did he use her name. "I thought she'd be here," he said. "That's why I knocked."
"Raylynx is still at Hogwarts," I answered. "Term isn't over yet."
Sirius frowned. "Then why are you here?"
"Erm, some of the students found out that I was a werewolf. I felt it was time to go," I explained.
"Merlin, Moony," Sirius said, soberly. "I would have thought that Dumbledore-"
"Dumbledore already did enough for me. Too much. I chose to leave," I replied.
"How did the students find out, anyways?" Sirius asked keenly. "This didn't have anything to do with what happened with me, did it?"
"No," I replied. "Well, not directly..."
I fell silent, but Sirius waited for an answer.
"I believe… after finding out that you had escaped, Severus let slip that-"
"Fucking bastard," Sirius spat out. "I knew it."
"It was a small price to pay, if it meant overriding his story to let you escape," I said quietly.
Sirius sighed. "I'm sorry, Moony. I dragged you into this mess."
I shook my head. "No. I'm the one who should apologize. I should have guessed that it was Peter, and not you."
I fell back on the couch, watching Buckbeak try to sit comfortably to preen his feathers.
"Well, I can't say it didn't hurt to think that you believed I was the traitor," Sirius said heavily. "But, in a way, it's what I deserved from you. After all, we'd kept you out of it because we thought you might be the traitor. You weren't supposed to know."
"It was a difficult time," I said quietly. "Nobody could trust anybody else…"
I put my head in my hand as I murmured, "I cannot believe… Well, first that it was Peter, but second, that I never realized. It never even crossed my mind that it could be Peter. And third, that we let him escape…"
I didn't see the flash of anger that crossed Sirius' face, but he tried to keep his anger hidden as he said in a careful voice, "Well, Harry's safe, and I'm out of Azkaban. Let's just leave it at that, for now."
"Moony," he said, wanting to talk about something else, "Where d'you reckon we should keep Buckbeak? If we keep him in here, we can't open any of the windows."
"Right," I said, getting up from the couch.
We tromped down room-by-room to see where Buckbeak might fit, but it quickly became clear that the only room Buckbeak would be able to fit in was none other than the master bedroom itself.
"Do you think Raylynx will be mad?" I asked Sirius.
"If she gets mad, I'll tell her she can have Grimmauld Place to make up for it," Sirius responded.
I shrank the large bed in the room and pushed it into the far corner. Then, we squished Buckbeak through the bedroom doorway. Once he was inside, however, he had enough room to tromp around in circles and beat his wings a few times. Sirius fetched him a bowl of water and pulled out a couple dead ferrets from a pouch that he'd attached to Buckbeak's back right foot.
"So, when is she coming back?" Sirius asked, in a would-be casual voice as he washed his hands.
"I don't know exactly," I replied. "Most likely right after term, but she didn't say specifically. She asked me to come here in case you came here before she did."
"She did?"
"Yes."
Sirius caught a glimpse of himself in the glass window, which I'd just drawn the curtains back from again after moving Buckbeak. It was now dark enough that he could see his reflection.
"Moony?"
"Hm?"
"Have you got a razor?" he asked, lifting his jaw up slightly and running his hand over his stubble. "Oh, and maybe a spare toothbrush?"
A few minutes later, I was walking out along the neighborhood sidewalks, with Padfoot trotting at my side. We made our way down to a nearby Muggle market to purchase some things. It was a small market. There was only one person working, and her name tag had on it: "Manager".
There was a very awkward moment when I picked out a toothbrush. Figuring they were all the same, I just plucked one off the rack and started to walk away when Padfoot growled and leaping up onto his back legs, put his paw on my arm. I looked down to see that I was actually holding a kid's toothbrush, featuring a yellow choo-choo train. I hastily put it down and selected a more appropriate toothbrush.
The store manager, who noticed this little interaction, tried to be helpful and said, "If that's for your dog, sir, we've a selection of animal grooming items in aisle four."
"Oh, yes, aisle four…" I wandered away, hiding behind the tall racks until the manager had walked away.
"Merlin, Padfoot, you've got to act more like a dog," I said quietly.
We made our way down the next aisle. "All right," I whispered. "You tell me which razor to buy, but discretely." I ran my hand over the different types until Padfoot whined softly.
"This one, then. Good, that's settled. Now, let's-" I stood up, only to see the manager watching me with a deeply skeptical expression on her face. Oh Merlin, I thought, she probably thinks I'm trying to steal something and that I ran my hand over all of them to try to cover it up.
"It's not - I'm not - I just like to see how it would feel in my hand before I buy it," I mumbled.
She just stared at me.
"Yes. Well." I said, embarrassed. "I should pay, shouldn't I?"
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "How much is it?"
Finally, having purchased all of the basics, we got out of there. As we walked back down the sidewalk, I heard Sirius' highly amused bark behind me. I looked down sternly at him. "Now that I've traded in my dignity for a razor, I expect to see no stubble whatsoever on your face." Padfoot yelped and ran a circle around me, clearly still laughing.
Sirius was using the guest bathroom, which was attached to my bedroom. We both felt uncomfortable using Jamie or Sola's old rooms, even though they'd cleaned most of their stuff out.
I was slowly falling asleep on the bed while Sirius cleaned up. I heard him curse as he stood in front of the mirror. "Damn it."
I opened one eye and peered over at the light coming from the bathroom. "What is it?" I asked. "Did we forget to buy something?" Without waiting for a reply, I said, "You'll have to make do. I'm not going back out tonight, Pads." I rolled over, smushing my face into the soft pillow.
Instead, Sirius said bitterly, "I look like my father."
I didn't know what to say to that.
"Cut the hair off," Sirius muttered. Sure enough, I heard a rather dull, almost thick, chopping sound.
About ten minutes later, when Sirius had shaved and cleaned up a bit, he came back out. I lifted my head to look at him. This time, I could see a bit of his old mannerisms – that loping walk – in him. He rubbed his jaw and said, "For a skeleton, I clean up pretty nice, don't you think?"
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"You think I'm vain," Sirius read on my face.
"No," I murmured, half asleep.
"Then, you think I'm still good-looking."
I shook my head. "No, but now I think you are."
"Good-looking?"
"Vain," I corrected quickly. Internally, I sighed a little. Sirius still had that way of twisting words. Well, even twelve years in Azkaban couldn't take the dry wit out of him, could it? It was both a relief and horror to know that that part of good ol' Pads was still intact.
I made myself get up to wash my face and brush my teeth.
Sirius started to leave, but he stopped at the doorway. In a somewhat muted voice, he said, "That other bloke was good-looking, huh?"
"What other bloke?" I asked wearily, as I turned the faucet on. I splashed water on my face.
"The bloke she's seeing…"
I straightened up and looked in the mirror to see Sirius now standing against the bathroom door frame.
"How d'you know about him?" I asked, wiping my face with a towel.
"I saw them together. They seemed pretty lovey-dovey," he said. "Well, he had his hands all over her, anyways."
"When was this?"
"At Christmas."
"You came and saw her at Christmas?"
"Well, I saw her. But I didn't approach her. Like I said, she seemed happy enough. I figured I shouldn't disrupt her life."
I stared at him through the mirror. Sirius didn't know that Raylynx had broken up with Jasper, nor had he seen all of her efforts over twelve long years to free him and eventually, to get over him. I shook my head and brushed my teeth.
Afterwards, as I walked out of the bathroom, I said to Sirius, "I'm sure you could take Jamie's bed."
"Nah, I'll take the couch."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. G'night, Moony."
"G'night, Pads."
Raylynx's POV
Having spent many years at the Magical Menagerie, I happened to know the temperaments of most of the cats quite well. I wrote to the witch who ran the store now and purchased a gorgeous and friendly cat named "Oddfoot". He was called that because he had one black foot in contrast to his white fluffy coat. I also ordered some cat food and a new cat basket. Hermione lived in a Muggle neighborhood, like me, and it might be quite a hassle for her to have to order magical cat food. And although Muggle cat food would more than suffice, I figured Oddfoot would want to have familiar food while adjusting to a new place.
I wrote two other letters- one to Remus, indicating that I would be coming home in two days' time and another to Sehtzer, warning him that a rat might infiltrate Albania soon.
After sending the letters, I returned to my room and fell back against the bed, tired after a few long nights of grading exams. The results had come out this morning. Tomorrow, all of the students would leave for home.
Has Sirius come home? I wondered. My mind a little fuzzy from lack of sleep, I fell asleep half-hopeful and half-afraid of who I might be see when I finally went back home.
"Thank you, Professor!"
"Good-bye, Percy! Tell your parents and Bill and Charlie hello for me, please."
"Bye, Professor Kingsley!"
"See you next term!"
"Good bye, good bye," I said, trying to return everyone's waves.
"Thanks for everything, Professor! I'm sure I'll be seeing your brother on the Quidditch pitch soon."
"Yes, best of luck, Oliver! Congratulations on your graduation!"
"Have a good break!"
"Have a lovely break, Luna."
"Thanks for not failing me, Professor Kingsley!"
"You're very welcome, Seamus…"
Then, a voice directly behind me said, "Professor?"
I turned to see Harry standing there. "Harry," I said, and smiled warmly.
Harry returned my smile. "Professor Dumbledore said I can come to your house after three weeks. He told me that because Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are still my legal guardians, I still have to consider that place my home…"
I nodded, realizing that Dumbledore was trying to reinforce the blood protection he had put on Harry. "The Headmaster is right," I said. "But just hold on, Harry, you'll be with me soon enough." In my head, I thought – And perhaps, Remus. And maybe even-? But I forced myself not to get my hopes up.
Hagrid was calling everyone down so that they could head to the train. I nodded at Harry to go and he left, finding Ron and Hermione in the crowd. I watched him go, and I felt so happy knowing that he would come back to me in just a short time.
Dumbledore's POV
"Look at her, Albus," Minerva said softly, watching Raylynx standing before the open castle doors. "Is it so bad that she told Harry that she is his godmother?"
"I, like you, wish her every happiness in the world, Minerva," I assured her. "However, it is unavoidable that by revealing to Harry what she is to him that she has compromised her own safety. Depending on when and how Lord Voldemort decides to move, she may be in very grave danger indeed…"
"But how is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to know that Raylynx is Harry's godmother?" Minerva countered. "Considering what you have told me recently, I'm sure Peter told You-Know-Who about Sirius when they switched being Secret-Keepers, but Raylynx was never involved in that."
I paused, pondering the ways in which Voldemort could glean information about Harry. There were many, and the most frightening of all was the method in which Voldemort could go undetected – by recognizing a mental connection between them.
But all of this had yet to arise. However, I knew that somewhere out there, over the mountains, beyond the setting sun – Peter Pettigrew was steadily making his way to the Vampires' Lair in Albania, where the vampires were keeping Voldemort alive in shadow form.
"Let us keep our eyes wide open, Minerva."
Remus' POV
The next morning, I woke up to find Sirius already up, sitting on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. His back was leaning against the couch and he'd carelessly slung one arm on the couch behind him.
I yawned. "Want breakfast?" I asked him.
"Hm?" Sirius looked back at me. "Oh, yeah."
I made my way to the kitchen. There was an owl tapping on the window. I recognized it as Artemis, Raylynx's owl. I went over to the window and took the letter from Artemis. As soon as Artemis took off again, I opened it.
Dear Remus,
Term is finally finished. The students missed you the last few days. I overheard Dean Thomas asking if we could please have a vampire as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher next year. But I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night – or maybe tonight by the time you get this letter. It'll be fairly late at night when I arrive so please don't wait up for me. I just wanted to give you notice. I hope you've made yourself comfortable!
See you soon,
Raylynx
Sirius wandered into the kitchen just then.
"Raylynx said she's coming back late tonight," I told him.
Sirius paused.
"I've got to finish up some business with my landlord," I told Sirius. "He asked me to come by and pick up the remainder of my items before the apartment gets torn down. I'll be back around mid-day tomorrow."
"You don't have to leave…" Sirius said, hesitating.
"I really do have to go," I replied, smiling a little.
"Maybe I should go with you," Sirius said quietly.
I looked over at him a bit more seriously. "Do you truly not want to see her?"
Sirius shrugged with one shoulder.
Confused, I tried to read him, but it was impossible. Finally, I simply repeated, "Well, I'll be back tomorrow. Just hold the fort until then."
Raylynx's POV
Having finally packed up my office and finished for the term, I went home. Apparating, I landed on my street with a soft crack! It was raining – one of those strange, soft, late-spring rains. Holding my umbrella, I quietly made my way down the sidewalk, my chin sinking tiredly into my scarf. The end of term had been so exhausting.
I passed my neighbor's house and my own house came into clear view. I paused. There was a furry black lump on the stairs of my front porch. I blinked hard, clearing my eyes of tiredness. Yes, there it was- a dog.
The dog sat up, suddenly alert. Our eyes met. I breathed out. He had decided to trust me.
And suddenly, it was not a dog sitting on the porch, but a man with scruffy black hair that had been roughly cut, stony grey eyes that had seen too much, and a figure so thin and gaunt it was almost skeletal. He stood up slowly but anxiously, keeping his eyes on me.
I gazed at him, trying to breathe, trying to keep my heart going. Pitch-black darkness descended upon everything except him. Had the entire neighborhood burst into flames, I doubted I would have noticed. I only saw him.
I couldn't believe it. Twelve years long had passed, almost thirteen- and here he was. I burst into tears. My umbrella fell from my hand and onto the ground. I stood there and bawled like a child.
He came running down the steps, reaching for me. Despite his gaunt frame, his arms crushed me against him. Holding me tightly, he whispered, "Sorry I'm late."
