Prologue

Tears threatened to run down his eyes, yet he forced himself to remain stoic. Each hand was clasped by one of his daughters, as they wept for a mother and a brother they had barely known.

Bouquets of fresh flowers rested on top of the grave, in front of the cornerstone. Purple lilacs… her favourite.

William remembered when she used to tuck them behind her ears and laughed.

Her laugh was so exuberant, her smile so infectious, and her eyes so filled with love, that every time her face flashed before his eyes, it made him wonder how he had managed to keep on living even after losing her.

His son was just two years old when he disappeared… the same day his wife perished. He held out hope that Ryan was out there somewhere, but he knew it was foolish to do so.

It had been five years.

Ryan would have been seven.

His daughters were six, and every day, they resembled their mother more and more.

Everything had been so hard, but he had soldiered on… for them.

He would never get back the family he had lost, but he would have to live for the ones he had left.

He would cherish and nurture them, ensure that they would grow up to be women that their mother would have been proud of.

A hand rested on his shoulder. He raised his head to see his sister-in-law, smiling sadly at him.

She looked nothing like her sister but shared her kind heart. After he had lost her, she had done her best to be there for him and his daughters, despite having her own family to tend for and her numerous responsibilities.

Unlike him, free tears rolled down her light green eyes.

Beside her, her husband and son stood, each holding a bouquet.

His brother-in-law, who had been one of his best friends, long before they married into the same family, gave him a slight nod, while his nephew looked somber, though a bit awkward at being there.

He looked around, seeing others. Friends, who had become family through shared experiences as well as others arrive to pay their respects.

He felt a pang of reassurance in his heart.

His wife would never be forgotten. Nor would his son.

A single tear rolled down his cheeks.

There was not a single day that he did not think of them, but it was especially hard today.

Things would never be okay, but life would not stop.

He was still mourning. He did not know if he would ever stop.

But he was strangely okay.

Not okay in the traditional sense.

He was a different man than the man he had been when they were still alive.

As if their deaths had been the impetus for his rebirth into someone new.

His single objective in living was to ensure that his wife's sacrifice was not in vain… That the world she died to protect remained protected. That their family remained safe.

He would make sure his daughters grew up properly, and he would never stop searching for his son, even if all signs pointed to him being with his mother.

She died to give this world hope.

And he would keep hope alive.

For her.

Hope you guys liked this prologue. Obviously made some big changes to the lore. More would be clear as the story progresses.