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The school year was nearing its end, and every senior in the school was getting ready for graduation. Grom had been a few weeks ago, and the excited chatter of the students had died down into thoughtful murmurs.
Some kids had already joined a coven, and most of the others were getting ready for coven entrance exams. The seniors were getting ready to leave the school and start a life of their own.
Darling Whispers had yet to figure out their future. He was an honor student in the Illusions track, but he didn’t really want to join a coven. She didn’t want to be restricted to using only illusions for the rest of his life, and he’d already crossed out the Emperor’s Coven from his choices long ago.
“Zai,” He turned to his girlfriend, who was tuning her gui-scar. Zainab looked up from her instrument. “What are you going to do after graduation? Are you gonna join the bard coven?”
“Well, no. I don’t think I’ll be joining any coven. But I do have a plan. I was actually going to ask you.” Darling raised their eyebrows. “I want to perform. Traveling around the Isles, doing music, meeting people…”
“Just like we talked about.”
“Yeah.” She paused for a while. “I was gonna ask you to come with me. You’ve always liked performing, and you did say that you wanted to meet cool people from around the Isles.”
“I don’t know,” Darling frowned. “It seems like a great opportunity. But you know my nini… I don’t know how they’ll react to two wild witches that just graduated high school traveling around on their own.”
“Yeah, I figured.” She said.
“I’ll think about it, though. I think it will be a great opportunity.” He paused. “For you, too. You should go.”
“Yeah.” Zainab looked at Darling. “You’re not planning on joining the illusionist coven, are you?” She asked carefully.
“Titan, no.” Darling laughed. “I want to be wild. I can’t bear the thought of losing the rest of my magic, and I sure as hell don’t want to join the Emperor.”
“They might come to bring you in. Say they want you.” Zainab considered. “You’re powerful, your nini’s a high ranking witch in the Bard Coven, and your aunt is the head of the Emperor’s Coven.. Not to mention that your mother is Eda the Owl Lady . She’s kinda the strongest witch on the Isles.”
“They don’t know that.” Darling said with a twinge of doubt in her voice. “I don’t even think my aunt knows.”
“You think?” Zainab raised her eyebrows. “They have access to your medical records, you know. They can just–” She drew a circle in the air, like she was casting a spell– “and they can find out most things about you. Well, about your body, anyway.”
Darling shuddered. “How do you know this, anyway?”
“Umaima,” Darling recognized the name as Zainab’s older sister. “Is studying advanced healing magic in the coven. She says they can do real creepy stuff with all that.”
“That… is not something I expected to find out today.”
“But it took your mind off your worries for a moment?” His girlfriend suggested.
“Yeah. By giving me a new fear.” Darling groaned.
“Relax, babe. I don’t think they’re gonna go that far. Not before they get some real suspicions, anyway.” Zainab laughed.
“Real comforting. Thanks, sweetheart. Just what I needed.” He rolled his eyes.
The bell rang, telling them that they had only five more minutes of lunch time left, and the couple stood up. Darling had Illusionist History class next, and Zainab had band practice. Darling walked to his locker with his girlfriend, gathering his textbook and class notes.
“Hey.” Zainab said when he was in front of the classroom. “Think about it, okay? I won’t judge you for not wanting to go with me.” Darling nodded, and their girlfriend walked away after a kiss on their cheek.
He knew he wanted this. Why wouldn’t he? He loved performing, he loved Zainab… and he would give anything to have those two things he loved the most in his future. Maybe they would travel forever. Maybe she might settle down with Zainab one day, get married, even, and make music together in their own house.
He just needed to figure out how to tell his parent.
It was a long day at work. Raine had had a meeting with a few important members of the Emperor’s Coven, and then had to work through some papers after that. It was tiring, and it made them question why they ever wanted to join a coven in the first place. All they wanted was to take a long break.
They were home now, though. They opened the door to see Darling laying on the couch texting someone on their scroll. Probably her girlfriend. They smiled. It was sweet that the two of them were together for so long– they still remembered their 14 year old child pacing nervously the night before he’d asked her to their first grom together.
“Hey, I’m home.” Raine said. “I’m gonna order something for dinner, do you want anything?”
“I already had dinner with Zai.” Darling replied, barely looking up from her scroll.
“How was school?” The older witch asked hopefully, attempting to make conversation with their child.
“Fine.” Darling sat up, looking up at their parent. The two of them made eye contact for a moment, and the younger witch turned away, standing up from the couch. “I’m, uh, gonna go upstairs. Goodnight.”
“Yeah, you must be tired. Goodnight, dear.”
Raine heard their child’s footsteps going upstairs, and then the sound of his door closing. They sighed.
Darling closed the bedroom door behind them and slumped down on the floor, leaning on their bed. Everything was changing so quickly. It was their dream to perform alongside Zainab (She was SO talented and cool), but she didn’t know if she was ready to leave Raine. If she could. Would Raine even allow him to leave?
Raine wasn’t a bad parent, but they could be a bit... overbearing at times. They were a high ranking member of the bard coven. Their ex was a criminal with a bounty over her head. Darling often wondered if Raine’s demeanor was to protect him or stop him from ruining their reputation.
Then he would feel bad, because how could he think that of the person who gave up so much just for him?
Darling remembered the time she was actually close to her nini. He used to love spending time with his parent. He remembered when that all changed and the things he thought were real were all stripped apart into pieces.
It was when they were fifteen years old, and they had just met their mother for the first time.
He got home way past curfew that day. As soon as he opened the front door, her parent came rushing towards them and pulled them in a tight hug. They squirmed, trying to push them away.
“Thank Titan…” Raine said, moving away from their child. “Where were you? I was worried sick, I was about to call the authorities. Did something happen?
Did something happen? Well, she supposed that would be right.
“I was at Zainab’s.” He replied, pushing away the feeling of betrayal he felt looking at his parent.
“Why were you at your girlfriend’s house until 11 p.m.?” Raine asked.
She couldn’t stop herself any longer. She couldn’t stand to look at their face anymore. She pushed Raine away and stepped back.
“Nini, why… why didn’t you ever tell Mom about me?”
Raine flinched. “What?”
“You never told her. She doesn’t know I exist, does she? You broke up with her and never bothered to tell her.” He felt his face heat up. “She didn’t recognize me. Of course she didn’t.”
“Darling, I–”
“And all this time,” His eyes started stinging. “I thought she never showed up because she didn’t care.” They walked towards the stairs– they needed to be alone.
“Darling, please, give me a chance to explain.” Raine followed her, their voice desperate. Darling walked to his room, holding the doorknob.
“There’s nothing there to explain. You chose not to do that with Mom, sixteen years ago.”
He shut the door in their face.
It had been two years since that had happened. Two years of barely listening to what his parent said. Two years of separate dinners and trying to avoid spending time with them as much as she could. Two years of ignoring Raine’s attempts at reconnecting with their child.
She sighed as she got changed. She texted her girlfriend goodnight, and slumped into the bed.
It wasn’t her fault anyway.
“Darling.” Raine’s voice was stern.
The younger witch was getting ready to leave for school, and they were just picking up their bag when they heard their parent. “Yeah?”
Raine sighed. “What did I tell you about your room?”
“What about it?” Darling asked.
“I asked you to clean the floor, Darling. It’s not that hard. You have clothes and notes scattered all around.”
“It’s easier to focus that way. It’s not like I’m messing up the living room or whatever.” He mumbled.
“It’s a minefield.” Raine paused for a moment, considering their next words. “I also found potion vials on your desk and potion recipes on the floor. Have you been studying the Potions track?” Raine asked.
“I didn’t miss any of my classes, if that’s what you’re worried about. I got the stuff from a friend. He gave me his notes and some potion samples.” She shot. “Why were you even in my room anyway?”
“Darling, you know what I’m worried about. You can’t keep doing this in school.” Raine was getting more exasperated by the second. “I let bard magic slip because I’m a bard, and your girlfriend’s a bard, and you didn’t seem like you were doing harm, so I let it slide. But this?” Raine motioned towards the stairs. “This is a whole other thing.” She knew she should just apologize, she needed to go to school, but she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to pretend to agree with them.
“Why not? Mom snuck in on other classes when she was in–”
“Darling Whispers!” Raine yelled. They clapped their hands over their mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to–”
“Well if you don’t want me to remind you of her, maybe you should’ve gotten rid of me when you had the chance!”
Silence. Painful, painful silence.
They knew what they said was horrible. He knew he had to apologize, tell their parent staring into the void that they didn’t mean any of it, but they couldn’t find the words.
Would they even be able to say it if they did?
Instead, she decided to run. Just like Raine did from her mother 19 years ago.
“Come on, Bravo. Let’s go.” They called to their palisman. The small peacock let out a worried squawk before shifting into his staff form and flying right into Darling’s hands.
“Darling, wait–” Raine called out. Darling hesitated a while, then walked out the door, leaving their parent behind them.
He needed to apologize. He needed to take it back. His heart pounded, and he could hear a voice screaming inside his head. She closed the door.
She’d never forget the look on Raine’s face as the door shut in front of them.
Oh, she had messed up so bad.
School was eventless; the teachers didn’t really care much for classes since finals were over, so no one really noticed if they snuck out of class. It was summer– and the weather was too nice to spend hours doing nothing in classrooms.
Zainab was tuning her gui-scar, humming a tune he’d never heard before, and he closed his eyes. It was nice, and they liked getting to spend time with their girlfriend often like this. He concentrated on the tune she was humming. Her low voice was soothing. The warm breeze tickled his cheeks. He could stay like this forever.
“New song?” He asked.
“Yeah, I started working on it yesterday.” She said. “I don’t have an exact tune, it’s just the chords for now. But I’m experimenting.”
“It sounds good.” He smiled. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
“Well, I can’t wait to hear you sing it.” She grinned.
“Mhm…” Darling trailed off. If he stayed, would he ever sing again? Without Zainab?
Zainab talked a bit more about the song, but Darling couldn’t focus on the meaning of her words. They felt their stomach turn. They breathed out, trying to listen to the girl next to them, how she formed the words in her mouth before bringing them out, and fiddled with the hem of their sleeve.
He felt like he was underwater. He couldn’t do anything for himself, and he’d just put himself in a worse situation that morning. He was drowning.
“Darling? Darling!” Zainab called, and the green-haired witch came to her senses.
“Sorry, I was zoning out. Can you tell me what you were saying?” They asked, hoping she wouldn’t acknowledge that it was clearly more than just ‘zoning out’.
Zainab frowned. “Darling, if there’s something on your mind you know you can talk to me about it.” Shoot. Darling sighed.
“It’s nothing serious, really. I just… I may have lashed out at my nini this morning. It’s dumb, nothing to worry about! I’m sorry I zoned out, it’s just that– well– a lot of things are changing, and it’s overwhelming.”
“Is this about the thing I suggested the other day? Leaving Bonesborough?”
“It’s–” Darling fiddled with his fingers. “It’s… complicated.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” Zainab drew a spell circle, making her instrument slowly vanish into thin air. She leaned into her partner, ready to listen to what they had to say.
“I said something horrible.” He said. “I– I told them that they should’ve gotten rid of me when they had the chance. And– that’s terrible! They raised me, alone, for all these years and I– how could I say such a thing? To the one person who cared for me for eighteen years?”
“Dar–”
“I am just, one ungrateful little bitch–”
“Darling.” Zainab touched Darling’s shoulder. Darling winced. Zainab pulled back immediately as she saw his shoulders tense. “Dar, it’s– Well, yeah, what you said was a bit…” She motioned with her hand. “Extra, but Raine won’t think you’re ungrateful.”
“I am! I– I shouldn’t have said that to them! Now what will they think of me?” Darling choked. They felt some tears building up. Great, now I’m crying about my goddamn family issues in front of my girlfriend. He wiped his eyes.
“Well, yeah, you probably shouldn’t have said that, but what you said once doesn’t define you as a person.” She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed her partner’s eyes. “Here, stop rubbing your eyes like that. You could hurt them. Raine won’t think any less of you for lashing out at them once. You were rightfully mad, it’s just been building up too long for you to express it properly. Then boom.” Zainab motioned with her free hand, as if she was depicting an explosion.
“...Do you carry that around all the time?” Darling asked as they took the handkerchief from their girlfriend’s hand.
“Yeah.” She replied. “ Not the point , Darling.” She rolled her eyes at her partner, making them laugh a bit.
“Okay…”
“I need you to go easy on yourself. You keep telling yourself you’re ungrateful, that you’re a fuckup– don’t look at me like you have no idea what I’m talking about, I know you, Whispers– but you’re not. You’re not a mistake. Raine made their choice to keep you, and it’s their responsibility to not be a shitty parent.”
“I wouldn’t say they’re a shitty parent…”
“I’m not saying they are, Dar, but if they’re making you feel that way, they’re not doing a really good job. Look, don’t get me wrong, I love Raine– they’re great, sweet, I love their music, and they’re really nice to me. But they haven’t made the best choices. The mistake they made all those years ago isn’t that they kept you, it’s that they didn’t tell Eda about it. And that they kept that a secret from you too.” Zainab caressed his cheek. “And I’m sure they think so too.”
“They won’t hate me?”
“Never.”
“Are you sure?”
“Darling, I am sure your parent won’t hate you over one bad thing you said to them.” Zainab reassured them. “They might be a bit hurt, yeah, but they’re not gonna hate you. You don’t hate them, even when they’ve hurt you.”
“I guess…”
“They can handle one outburst. But for now, I need you to take care of yourself. Put yourself at first priority. Not me, not Raine, just you. Do what you want to do. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Zainab smiled. “Okay?”
“Okay…”
“Good.” She kissed the illusionist’s hand. “Now let’s go, we have to get back before class ends.”
“Darling.” Zainab sounded worried.
“Hmm?” She was sitting on Zainab’s bed, scrolling through Penstagram and humming a song he was working on.
“Did you talk to Raine?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell them soon.”
Darling had fully decided to leave Bonesborough with Zainab. It was a great chance– probably the best chance he’d ever get to do what he really wanted to do. It would be great, right? But they still hadn’t brought up the plan to their nini. Not yet.
Zainab was now visibly worried. She rolled over so she was right next to him, and looked him in the eye. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“I can tell when you’re avoiding something, Whispers. I’ve known you for a decade.”
“I just-” He sighed. “It’s stupid, really.”
“You could always talk to me about it.” She said. Darling put down their scroll. Zainab reached for their glasses and put them away. “You know I won’t judge you.”
He smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.” He snuggled into her side. “Do you remember when we ran into my mom, like 3 years ago?”
“More like she saved us from those scouts, but continue.” Darling started fiddling with Zainab’s hand.
“Yeah. Well, I went home that night and I kinda lost my temper. Then a few days later Nini told me about the breakup. Well, it was more of an explanation to why they didn’t tell Mom I existed, but the breakup was in there.” He shut his eyes. It was a habit he had before he said something he really didn’t want to.
“They were both wild. Then Nini left her to join the bard coven. Then, a few months later, when they found out they were pregnant, they didn’t tell her about it because they were scared for me. She was wild, wanted, there’s posters on the wall that demand she’s captured. And they didn’t want me to get wrapped up in all that.”
“I used to think that was bullshit, probably because I was still mad at them, but I kinda understand now. Like, who knows what they do to wild witches. I’m her kid, anyone that knows me and Nini can figure that out, and if I’m wild too… I’m also in danger, then. She’s one of the most wanted witches, too.”
“I don’t know if they told me the whole story, and honestly I don’t trust them enough to believe everything they said. But I do think they’ll be worried about the Owl Lady’s teenage kid roaming about the Isles without a sigil on her arm.”
“But you’re… not going to get a sigil, are you?” Zainab asked cautiously, tracing the spot on her partner’s arm where a sigil would be for most adult witches.z
“Of course not! I can’t give this… myself up just because of that. I already knew it would be dangerous to be wild.”
“Then why didn’t you talk to Raine yet?”
“I just… don’t know how to bring it up.” They sighed. “I know I want to go. I really do. But I know they’ll be worried and I honestly don’t know if they’ll let me go.”
“You’re an adult, of course they’ll let you go.”
“Well, yeah, I guess.” He leaned into Zainab’s shoulders. “I kinda feel guilty about leaving them alone at home. It’s stupid. They’re the one that left Mom in the first place. Ugh, why am I like this…”
“You don’t have to, you know that, right?” Zainab stroked their hair. “You’re a grown adult making a choice for yourself, and you don’t have to feel guilty about anything else. They might be sad, yeah, but they have their own life to live, too. And this,” She tapped his chest. “This one is yours. And no one gets to make you feel guilty for wanting to enjoy it.”
“Zai…” He looked touched. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“You always know what to say to me when I’m having a bad time or can’t figure something out.”
“Because I care about you.” Darling giggled.
“Okay, one more question. If some ‘important’ people find out I’m Eda Clawthorne’s kid, I might be in danger and even wanted. That means you will be too, since you’ll be with me. Are you… okay with that?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “And you know why? Because I love you.”
“You are so cheesy. I’ll take it.” She hugged them tight.
They leaned into the embrace. They’d needed it.
The last week of school passed by quickly. The seniors slowly packed their things and got ready to leave the school for good. The final exams were over. The empty feeling in Darling’s chest grew as the last day of school became closer.
Zainab and Darling were finalizing their plans for their departure. Zainab’s dad and Umaima– Zainab’s sister– had been helping them out. Darling felt guilty for leaving Raine out of the planning, especially when their girlfriend’s family had been actively helping the pair.
So, Darling and Raine were having dinner together. It had been a while since they’d done that– months, maybe. It was definitely the first time in years that Darling asked Raine if they could have dinner together. Raine was surprised, but seemed happy that their child was willing to spend time with them. Darling felt a bit guilty seeing their parent so cheerful, since the only reason he suggested eating together was that he was leaving them.
But right now, they were eating in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. They were both staring at their scrolls, trying to hide from the awkward tension.
“Nini,” He started cautiously. Raine looked up from their scroll. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” They asked, worried by his tone.
“I was thinking, that after graduation… I would leave.” Raine raised their eyebrows.
“You’ll have to be more specific than that, dear. Where are you going?”
“I, um.” She was never nervous when talking to a crowd onstage, yet here they were, stammering in front of their own parent. “Zainab, you know her, my girlfriend, she’s going to travel the Isles to perform.” He paused for a moment. “She asked me to go with her. You know, since I’m into performing and stuff like that.”
“Oh, okay.” Darling looked at her parent. “When are you leaving? Right after graduation?”
“I can go?”
“Of course you can go.” They replied, a bit surprised. “You’re an adult now. I’m not going to stop you from living your life.”
“Right. Um, no, we’re leaving a few days after graduation because we still need to work out some stuff. But pretty soon. Mr. Sikandar and Umaima are helping us with that.”
“Do you have enough money for the trips?”
“We both have enough saved up for a few months, and we’ll be working part time jobs, too. So we’ll be fine.”
“That’s good. If you need any help, you can ask me, too. I’ve traveled before, back when I was wild. Not for long, but I did.” Raine’s eyes seemed a bit sad, and Darling wondered if the person they’d traveled with was his mother.
“Got it.” He smiled. “Oh, and also… I was thinking that I wouldn't be joining a coven. Like, never.”
Raine smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“You’re… okay with that?”
“Why not?” Raine shrugged. “Working for the bard coven is fulfilling for me, but I know you want to keep all your magic.”
“You didn’t like it when I studied different tracks.” Darling pointed out, remembering their conversation with their parent about the potion vials in his room.
“You’re in school. There are authorities watching you, keeping an eye on everything you do. And records.” They said. “Better to stay safe.”
“Right.”
“You’re still working on some plans, right? Just let me know if you need any help. And keep me filled in if you can, okay? Penstagram?”
“Of course.” Darling paused, looking at their empty plate and spinning his fork around. “Well, that’s… what I wanted to say. I should, uh, go upstairs.”
“Right.”
Darling nodded, standing up from the table and putting his plate in the sink. She smiled awkwardly at her Nini as she made her way to the stairs.
“Darling?” Their voice stopped her, and she turned her head around. Raine smiled. “I just… want you to know that I’ll always support you. No matter what.”
“Yeah.” Darling replied, trying to ignore the strange feeling in their chest. “I know.”
Darling had left as soon as he could, taking only their essential belongings with them. Her clothes. Money she had saved up for a few years, running little errands here and there. A framed photo she’d taken with Zainab about a year ago. Music notes.
Nothing had really changed drastically in Darling’s room, but Raine still found it empty anyways. They’d clean it occasionally, making sure their child’s prized possessions would stay clean. The dust settling on his desk was a painful reminder of how they’d driven their child away.
Darling’s messages got less frequent as time passed. It’s okay, Raine told themself. They’re an adult. Of course they’re busy. They probably don’t have the time to text. They reassured themself, knowing that it was nothing but a lie whenever Darling would post pictures of parties and new people on her Penstagram feed.
Eventually, Darling and Zainab came back to Bonesborough. Raine had found out through a Penstagram post. They welcomed him home, only to find out that he hadn’t come to stay, but only for the rest of their stuff.
For years to come, Raine would sit in that empty room, wondering if one thing had been different their child wouldn’t have shut them out.
They’d never know.
Darling looked around frantically. The people that were turned into puppets were turning back, and everyone was reuniting with their friends and family again. He’d made a beeline for the Archives as soon as he heard the news.
His girlfriend had been one of the first witches to be turned into puppets. Darling had run away, and managed to join the Hexside shelter. It was… certainly weird, but it was better than the streets.
Zainab. She had to be here. He had to find Zainab.
“Zainab!” They shouted. There was no way she could hear them. They walked around to see all the other families, hoping to find her in the crowd. They needed to find her.
What if something happened? What if she’s gone? What if I never see her again?
“Darling!”
He whipped his head around. It was, without a doubt, her voice. They smiled when they saw her. “Zai.”
She saw them, then started running. He made his way towards her, too.
“I’m so sorry I ran, I– I didn’t know what to do–” Their voice cracked.
“No! I’m glad you ran. I was so, so worried that they took you too.” She cried. He hugged her.
“I missed you so much.”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. I’m okay. It’s all over now.” They sighed. “We’re fine. We don’t have to run!”
She kissed his face, and they smiled.
“Darling?” It was another voice, familiar and gentle, and he turned to see the speaker immediately.
“Nini!” They cried. Raine was there, leaning into Eda, smiling at them. There were two kids next to the tall woman, one a small demon, and the other the famous human teenager. There were new scars on their face, and their hair seemed longer too. They were disheveled.
“Are you okay, dear? Did you get hurt anywhere?” They asked. Darling hugged them. Raine seemed a bit surprised, but accepted the embrace, holding onto their child tightly.
“No, no, I’m fine. What happened to you?”
“It’s… a long story. But I’ll be okay.” They sighed. “Titan, I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” He smiled.
“Hello Zainab, it’s been a while since we met.” Raine smiled at their child’s girlfriend.
“Hi, Raine.” She waved.
Darling saw Eda smiling from behind Raine. The woman had clearly shorter hair than when they had met a few months ago, and was now missing an arm. Zainab noticed and nudged her partner. He looked his mother in the eye. “Hi, uh, mom.”
Eda was dumbfounded for a moment, then smiled. “Hey, Darling. Good to meet you again properly.”
“About time.” He laughed. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Me too, kiddo.”
The three of them stood awkwardly, none of them knowing what to say to each other, with only the sounds of Luz and King whispering to each other barely audible. The demon jumped off the human girl’s shoulder and onto the floor right in front of Darling.
“You’re our older sibling, right? Raine has been telling us about you since the moment we finished off Belos!” He grinned and held out his hand. “I’m King Clawthorne.”
The human girl held out her hand too. “Luz Noceda!” She smiled.
Darling was surprised, but felt a warm fuzzy sensation tickling their chest. They shook both of the kids’ hands.
“Darling Whispers. And this is my girlfriend, Zainab Sikandar.”
“Hey, kids.”
Darling watched as Zainab talked to the kids. Luz talked about her own girlfriend, who was reuniting with her own family. King told Zainab about how cheesy the young couple was, and Eda agreed, laughing as she told Zainab and Raine how Luz had gone on a mission to save her girlfriend. Raine chuckled, bringing up a story from almost a decade ago about how Darling had first asked Zainab to grom.
Zainab giggled at the memory, and looked at Darling. Darling smiled. This was their family– a bit messed up, weird family, with a lot of issues to work out, but it was family nonetheless.
And, for the first time in years, Darling felt home.