b+15 /bbBONUS /b

    “Maybe you should take a minute to think about it,” Roger said. “This is the most effective treatment.”

    “When I go out, it’s going to be peacefully in my sleep,” the elder sald. “I’m bnot /bgoing to tear myself apart trying to chase a cure I’m not sure if I even want.”

    “You don’t want it?” Pete asked. His wife stayed close to him.

    b“/bWhen you get to be my age, boys, you learn not to be afraid bof /bdeath. I have seen it happen to everyone who came before me, and knew it was only a matter of time before it was my turn.” Elder Jeffers smiled. “I’ve lived a good life. I’ve dedicated myself to the pack. But I am ready to return to the arms of the moon goddess now, and to see your mother again.”

    “You don’t know what you are saying,” Ken said. “Healer Amber tricked you somehow.”

    “No, son,” the elder said calmly. He held out his hand for Ken, who took it. “You have to let go of this anger within you. I knew this would happen, and I’ve been nning for my end. You simply have to call mywyer and …”

    “I don’t care about the money, Dad,” Ken said. “I want you here with us.”

    “I can’t stay forever,” the elder said.

    “You don’t want him to be in pain,” Roger said to his brother.

    Ken lowered his head. “If the healers did their jobs…”

    “They have done their jobs,” the elder said. “They brought me back long enough to tell you each how much I love you and to say goodbye.”

    The mood shifted, turning more personal. The other healers, Julian, and I stepped back to give them the room they needed to properly talk to each other.

    While we turned our backs, Julian nudged his shoulder into mine, offering me silent support.

    These types of situations never really got easier, no many how many times I experienced them.

    Hourster, after Elder Jeffers’s wishes were clear and he was asleep once more, his family stayed with him until the end. After the elder returned to the arms of the Moon Goddess and histe wife, Roger, Pete, and Rachel all thanked me profusely.

    Ken red. “My father may be gone but this isn’t over. You’ll pay for your negligence here.”

    His brothers pulled him away, apologizing to me behind his back, but I waved them all away, determined not to take any of this personally.

    Everyone handled grief differently, some with tears, some with threats. Ken seemed to be an emotional man who dearly loved his father. bHe /bneeded someone to me for the death, and I was as good a target as anyone.

    I could shoulder this burden, carrying the weight of it for as long as Ken needed me to.

    At least I tried to.

    When I returned home that night, I hugged Alice extra tightly, findingfort in her returning hug.

    “Hard day, Mom?” she asked me.

    I couldn’t lie to her. “Yes.”

    The next morning, I decided to take off work to recuperate my own mental health. Alice had to go to school, so I had a whole day nned for myself involving a hot bath, a luffy robe, and a whole lot of daytime soap opera

    television.

    First thing was first though. After brewing my coffee, I sat with a mug and turned on the news.

    I instantly regretted it when Olivia’s face filled the screen.

    She was speaking into a microphone held by a reporter.

    “It’s just not right, what Healer Amber has done,” Olivia said. “So I’ve decided to use my public influence for some good. I’m standing beside Ken Jeffers as he advocates for histe father. We both believe that Healer Amber neglected Elder Jeffers and his care.”