THE NIGHT ETHAN COLE FINALLY FELT AT HOME
Chapter 13
That evening, Ethan walked home along Harbor Road.
The town looked ordinary again.
No lights.
No music.
No tables.
No bonfire.
Just houses.
Boats.
Cars.
The smell of salt in the air.
A dog barking somewhere behind a fence.
An old man watering his plants.
A child riding a bicycle.
Ordinary life.
Ethan stopped outside his house.
He looked toward the harbor.
The bonfire was gone.
But he could still smell the smoke.
He could still hear the music.
He could still hear Walter laughing.
Lily shouting.
June calling his name.
For a moment, he closed his eyes.
The memories came back.
Not as a story.
As fragments.
A hand on his shoulder.
A cold bottle.
A plate of food.
A guitar.
Firelight.
Laughter.
A little girl’s voice telling him not to leave.
Ethan opened his eyes.
He smiled.
The festival had lasted one night.
But it had given him something that would last much longer.
A memory.
Not of the night he attended a festival.
But of the night he realized he had stopped being a stranger.
