The door flew open. A broad-shouldered man in sweatpants appeared, his wife hovering just behind him.

“What’s going on here?” the man barked, eyes flicking from the terrified girl to the stranger at the bottom of the stairs.

The stranger’s face went rigid—shock, then calculation. He turned on his heel and vanished into the night, his coat whipping behind him like a shadow retreating.

Courage Remembered

Emma stood trembling, clutching her backpack against her chest. Her voice was gone, but her father’s words echoed louder than ever.

She had made light. She had made noise.

And because of that—she was safe.