"I'm going to try," he said, more to himself than anyone. "To be here. To not... disappear into it."

"You already are," Peter said.

Eira looked up from her spoon architecture. "Can we go to the park?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "It's 6:30 in the morning, cariad."

"So?"

Papa laughed — a real one, sudden and surprised. It felt strange in his chest. But not wrong.

Tima laughed too, just because he had. An echo. A beginning.

Outside, the day continued.

And so did they.