EPILOGUE 2: Barclay and Leif

In the span of a few days, the trees had shed enough of their orange coat to be unrecognizable.

Like ghastly skeletal fingers with bits of copper flesh clinging to them, they reached toward the endless abyss of gray above them.

Buried behind the thick expanse of dreary clouds, even the sun seemed to mourn. The quiet mourning of one who has no tears left to shed.

That must be why the gorged clouds stubbornly refused to let the rain fall.

Disgusted by the scenery around her, Kel swallowed the acrid saliva pooled in her mouth.

It should have been difficult to swallow due to an emotional knot in her throat, but the bitter taste went down surprisingly easily. 

Unlike the anguish that had been gripping her heart every waking moment since Barclay's death, it was a frigid emptiness that filled her whole chest. 

Perhaps her emotions were too strong, and her body had gone numb to protect her from the pain.