Chapter 15: The Open Door**
As evening fell, the bakery quieted down. The family stayed behind to sweep the floors and turn off the ovens.
Damian stood at the front window, looking across the street at the glowing Aurelia Tower in the distance. The skyscraper still pierced the clouds, but it no longer represented cold corporate isolation. Its lower floors were illuminated with community classrooms, public libraries, and open clinics.
Sarah walked up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”
“About how close I came to spending my entire life at the top of an empty building,” Damian murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Leo walked over between them, taking Damian’s hand with his left and Sarah’s with his right.
“Mom? Dad?” Leo asked, looking up at them both.
“Yes, buddy?” Damian answered.
“Did we build a good blueprint?”
Damian looked at Sarah, then down at the boy whose courage had saved them all from a lifetime of regret and loneliness.
May you like
“The best one possible, Leo,” Damian said softly. “Because this one has an open door for everyone.”
Hand in hand, the three of them turned off the lights and walked out together into the warm evening air, leaving the door unlocked for a city that was finally learning how to heal.
