Chapter 235

• The memory came on without warning, sliding into my mind so smoothly that I didn’t sense it until I was already in its grasp. My head felt strangely light, pain- free in a way that was almost suspicious. As I drifted into unconsciousness, an eruption of colors flashed behind my closed eyes, swirling and churning until I felt myself pulled far, far away.
• The colors engulfed me, wrapping around like a soft cocoon as shapes slowly took form. As my vision sharpened, large blots of green and brown transformed into towering trees, their branches weighed down by dense emerald leaves. Black shapes solidified into the road cutting through the heart of Leonardo’s town, the same road that had once guided my every step there. Around me, soft grass spread like a living carpet, and the air was tinged with a gentle sweetness. The sun poured down in waves, warm against my skin, yet a hollow sadness still clung to me.
• “Mommy, how much longer?” a small, familiar voice whined, eager and impatient. “Can we go to the park now?”