The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows over the lawn and the bloom of perfume jasmine wound around him in a

himself, trying to shrug off the end o

led by the memories he'd brought back with him from his recent time overseas. The world he had left beh

" she cried, running toward him, arms outstretched. Her arms wrapped around him, and for a split second, the la

sed whatever chasm they had spent years apart from creating, years that had been filled with unce

g his. "You look different ... in a good way," she smiled, but h

ed, but uncertainty still lurked beneath. He was on the verge of comforting her when his phone

etrieving the device. "

eding him vague news so vague it left the ground shifting beneath his homecoming of an unusual military recall. As

ing up on the bed looking worried. "What is it?" she as

ion peaking, the fight starting to boil once again him. He could sense the gravity of duty calling him back into the trenche

g her head slightly. "Elias, yo

liberate, had a steadiness that quelled some of Elias's storm. The older man lo

then reached over to pat Elias on the shoulder. "You've

w to do the balance thing, Dad. "I want to be here, with

ibilities, Elias, to ourselves as well as other

world in which duty and love could merge, where returning home was not the end, but r

ifeline that connected him to the love and strength that would help him face harder challenges down the road. And in that instant, he chose that he would not just s

stood together. Elias had felt free, prepared to confront his crossroads with the knowledge tha

ginning of the journey, after all They have a family dinner, as he was having a dinner with his fami