The Heartwood oh, adi, don't you know you're still number one?

This man —

"Because I am happy, Adi," she said, her teeth grit. There was an awful stitch in her throat. "And I am so proud of who our children have become, and they would not be the same if they weren't part of you. And now they are all gone — "

Her mouth trembled again. She looked skyward, trying to stave off more tears.

"And I want them back," she said to the clouds. She couldn't mourn her children, of course. They were alive and well, and she was proud of who they were, and who they were becoming. But she missed them so badly, and —

"Do you remember what it was like, after Morningside fell apart?" she asked him, still speaking to the heavens. Calmer, now. Melancholy. Peaceful, somehow. "I know you do. We're the only ones, Adi. Whatever else has happened — you've been my family these many years. And we made more, and they were perfect."

She looked back at him, a weak laugh in her throat.

"They are perfect," she corrected.