Julian had placed two rickety wooden chairs from inside the smithy against the wall, looking towards the fire. Harvey sat in one, the stiff wood groaning as he gently lowered himself into it. Satisfied it wouldn’t buckle underneath him, he leaned his head back against the building and took a deep breath. Hannah plopped into the second, and they sat in silence while she caught her breath.

  It was calming to watch the orange flames dancing erratically as the wood crackled. The bright light of the fire made it harder to see the dark forest just outside the gate, and for a moment, it felt like he could’ve been on a camping trip with his family. They’d camped a lot back in his Boy Scout days, but it had been years since they’d gone, since Max was prone to running off alone into the woods. His fearlessness was a big part of his love for anyone and everyone he met, but it was a problem when it also extended to bears.

  “That was quite a routine,” Harvey said, breaking the silence as he opened his palms to the fire.

  “Ha, yeah. I haven’t done that in months.” Hannah laughed. “Felt good.”

  “Were you a cheerleader or something?” Harvey asked.

  “I was! I cheered for Boise State University up until I got sick. I was about to start my senior year when my body just started shutting down.” Hannah replied wistfully.

  “A college cheerleader? That’s impressive! If I remember right, you guys had a pretty great football team.” Harvey added.

  “You know it! It was fun to finally cheer for a good team. My high school had one of the best cheer teams in the state, but our football team was god awful. Trying to keep the crowd excited when you’re losing 31-10 is rough.” She laughed.

  “I can imagine. It’s never fun to watch your team lose every week.” Harvey laughed, a smile spreading as she reminisced. His own high school volleyball team had been that weekly loser, so he knew exactly what she meant. It didn’t take long before her smile sagged into sadness.

  ‘I’m sorry you got sick.” Harvey lamented.

  “Anaplastic thyroid cancer…” She grumbled. “I was the youngest case ever recorded in Idaho when I got diagnosed at 21. Cancer always sucks, but typically thyroid cancer has a pretty high survival rate. Lucky for me, I got the type that almost always kills you in under a year.”

  “That’s terrible,” Harvey whispered as she leaned back with a somber expression. It hurt to think of someone so young having their entire life turned upside down so fast.

  He thought about his own death and how trivial his problems must seem to someone in her shoes. His job was stressful, and his girlfriend cheated on him, so he ended it all. She had cancer and fought to the very end. He was amazed she could be so calm and playful despite everything she’d been through.

  “Yeah, it was. In eight months, I went from a college cheerleader studying for the veterinary school entrance exams to stuck in bed watching Netflix, stuffed with drugs that barely helped.” Hannah exclaimed with a sigh.

  “Vet school? I have a friend whose wife just graduated, tough job market right now.” Harvey asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Ha! Tough job market. That’s funny.” She said, waving her arms at the rotting frontier town they were sitting in. “Yeah, I thought it would be a great fit for me. I didn’t want to work on the farm with my brothers forever, but I wanted to stay close by. As a vet, I could help the local farms and ranches with their livestock, and keep everyone’s pets healthy.”

  “I think it’s a great plan,” Harvey replied with a smile.

  “Not sure it matters anymore. Even if we get back, I can’t imagine home will look anything like the way we left it.” Hannah said.

  “Probably true. But who knows, maybe there are magic veterinarians.” Harvey joked.

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  “Oh hell yeah, that would be sick!” Hannah said, leaning forward excitedly. “I could learn all about dragon diseases!”

  They laughed as they took turns coming up with the craziest magic vet stories they could think of.

  “I’m not doing anything to help those spiders with the human skulls we saw, though. Nature is beautiful, but whatever those things are, they definitely aren’t natural.” Hannah exclaimed.

  “Yeah, not looking forward to those showing up. We have time, though, with how fast we were moving in that vision, it’s gotta be weeks before they get here.” Harvey added.

  “We’ll be ready when they do,” Hannah said. The two sat in silence, watching sparks float up into the sky when Harvey added more fuel to the fire. “So what about you? What’s your story?”

  “My story?” Harvey replied. “Well, I’m 25, born and raised in Arizona. A small town outside Phoenix, but they all blend together there. I’m the oldest of 4 kids. My sister, Eleanor, is a little older than you and just finished her first year of law school. I’ve got a 17-year-old brother, Tyler. And a 12-year-old brother named Max. They’re all in Arizona still, but I moved out to San Jose after I graduated with my Master’s in Computer Science to work at a company called Empire Engineering. My latest project has been building an AI model for the company.”

  “Harvey, I don’t need your resume. I want to know more about you! I’m also the youngest of 4 kids. I’m sure Max and I would be buds. Us babies of the family have to stick together.” Hannah laughed as she teased him.

  “Right, sorry. I’ve been in the corporate grindset for too long now. The last few months have been nothing but 80-hour weeks…” Harvey chuckled, exasperated. “What do I like to do? Well, I played volleyball growing up. 6'2" is nowhere near tall enough to play in California, but it was enough for High School ball in Arizona. Now I love all the racquet sports. Tennis, Racquetball, Pickleball… My girlfriend, well, I guess ex-girlfriend, played tennis in college, so we used to play together a lot before work got busy.”

  “You guess? When did you guys break up?” Hannah asked.

  Harvey hesitated, staring into the fire as he debated telling the real story. He could keep it vague, but the way she sat there, open and unflinching about her own struggle, made him want to tell the truth.

  His fingers tightened on the armrest of the chair. “Technically, we never did. I missed date night, stuck at the office, so she decided to go make out with some guy at the club. A friend sent me the video, and I got in my car and put the pedal to the metal until I hit something.” Harvey said. He felt like words weren’t enough to share how he’d felt in that moment, but for some reason, he knew she would understand.

  She didn’t speak right away. Just watched him through the shifting firelight, eyes narrowing slightly as if she was seeing him for the first time. “Wow, that’s heavy…”Hannah muttered.

  “I’d never even thought about killing myself before. It all just kind of happened. I’d had a long week at work and couldn't get my boss to stop breathing down my neck. Then my mom called to chew me out for not calling enough, and to top it off, I got a video of the love of my life making out with some other guy. I couldn’t figure out the whole work-life balance thing, and seeing that video just made something snap.” Harvey explained, tears welling up in his eyes.

  “It sounds like you had a lot on your plate. I don’t know enough about either of you to know what the truth is, but it can be hard when someone is stressed all the time and you never see each other. My boyfriend broke up with me a few months into my treatment because he said he couldn’t handle watching me in pain every time he saw me. All the doctors' appointments and recovery days meant we never got to see each other, and eventually it just became easier for him to leave.” Hannah replied.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Harvey replied, sniffling.

  “No, it’s ok. He was right. We were just dating, and it wasn’t the right situation for either of us. I had my family, and that’s what mattered.” Hannah explained.

  “You’re a lot more mature than I am.” Harvey laughed, wiping tears from his eyes as his shoulders relaxed, some of the dark cloud hovering over him melting away.

  “Not at all, I just had time to process the facts. You would’ve got there in time, but sadly, men are more likely to act out when things go wrong. All that testosterone, I guess.” Hannah joked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. What matters now is that we both get a second chance to live the lives we want, and I’m going to do everything I can to enjoy mine while I still have it.” Hannah exclaimed. “Tomorrow’s a new day, and we get to choose how much of yesterday to bring with us.”

  The two sat in silence, enjoying the contrast of the brisk night air biting at their backs with the warm glow of the fire ahead. They made small talk as they waited and watched the moon drift across the sky.

  When it had moved halfway towards the horizon, they opened the smith doors and woke up Julian and Gabe. Harvey took off his leather boots and placed them to the side, balling up his robe as a makeshift pillow.

  As he slipped into the sleeping bag, he realized how exhausted he was. The tired feeling set deep in his bones, and the second his head hit the ground, he was fast asleep.