Chapter 8 - The Starry Night
Later that evening, after the burgers were eaten and the kitchen was spotless, Eli and Zoe dragged their sleeping bags out onto the wooden back deck.
The Pacific sky was completely clear, lit up by millions of brilliant, glittering stars that stretched endlessly across the horizon. The Milky Way curved overhead like a brushstroke of silver paint against black velvet.
We set up the heavy-duty telescope I had bought for Eli’s tenth birthday—the one that had sat in its box during the chaos of Jenna’s invasion.
Eli adjusted the focus knob, peering through the lens with intense, scientific concentration.
“Whoa,” Eli breathed, his eyes widening. “Dad, look! You can see the rings of Saturn! They look like little silver coins!”
I knelt down beside him and peered through the lens. Sure enough, the magnificent gas giant hung in space, crystal clear and breathtakingly real.
“That’s incredible, buddy,” I smiled, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.
Zoe crawled into my lap, resting her head against my chest, staring up at the vast expanse of the cosmos. “Daddy, are we ever going to have people stay in our guest room again?”
I thought about the empty rooms inside the cottage—clean, quiet, and filled with peace.
“Only people who know how to respect our home,” I said softly, kissing the top of her head. “And only people who love you just the way you are.”
May you like
“Good,” Zoe murmured sleepily, her eyelids fluttering closed. “Because I only want us here.”
As the waves crashed rhythmically against the cliffs far below, echoing like a steady, reassuring heartbeat against the shoreline, I looked up at the endless sea of stars. The storm had passed. The wreckage had been cleared away. And our sanctuary was finally, truly ours.
