Chapter 50: Epilogue

The embers, now practically cold to the touch, cumbled against each other on the cooling brick, collapsing into nothing but grey dust. The sun was just beginning to peek through the dainty lace curtains over the window, casting beams of light onto dinner plates stacked high in the sink in the kitchen. The little boy slept comfortably, wrapped in a freshly finished quilt in his great-grandmother's arms, his soft snores one of the only sounds in the near silent room. She smiled as she looked around at her family, the wrinkles of her face softening as her heart swelled. Every single one of them, from the mothers in aprons to the old men in suits with pipes in their pockets, had fallen asleep leaning on each other draped throughout her dining room.