The short reply left with the neighbor's boy at first light. Three lines only. The letter had reached the right hands. More would follow when the ground was clearer. No promise of bodies. No refusal either.
They spent the morning watching the cut again. The tracks remained light and careful. Nothing had moved closer in the night. Atlas walked the edge of the trees twice, then a third time, while Lara kept her eyes on the open ground and Eli checked the angles from the higher rise.
Clara stayed near the path with the ledger closed under her arm. By the time they returned the house still held its ordinary quiet, but the quiet no longer felt complete.
The kitchen table looked the same. The chairs sat in their usual places. The air inside carried the same mix of wood smoke and clean linen. Yet the space felt thinner, as if something had already begun to leave it.
Two more packets arrived before midday.
