Asher kept an arm around his mother's shoulders, steadying her as she took careful steps away from the grave.
Her tears had slowed down, but her hands still trembled from the pain of the memories she had tried to bury.
He said nothing for a while, not because he didn't know what to say, but because he knew it was better to let someone in pain cry until they were tired before moving to console them.
He only held her close, stroking her back gently, while he divided his gaze between Nova, who was crawling and waiting over the graves.
Silence became louder than his mother's whimpering. The leaves of the tree rustled above them, and the gate creaked as the wind pushed through.
The white ivy and the tree that kept pulsing faintly seemed to remind him that if he hadn't been sent to the cemetery, he would still assume his father was just missing or perhaps ran away.
