One week had passed since the plane carried Daniel, Cole, and Sebastian away from the village.

The days had settled back into their old rhythm, but not completely. Something lingered in the air around Liam, a quiet restlessness he couldn’t quite name. He still woke at the same hour, still helped his mother with the fruit, still greeted the children who ran up to him in the paths. Yet every so often his hand would drift to the necklace at his chest, and his thoughts would drift to a tall man with tired eyes and a voice that had said, "I’ll still wait for you".

That morning, Liam sat on...