The air back home carried the smell of red earth and rain. It clung to the trees, to the sound of distant market chatter, to the rhythm of life that neither of them had felt in years.
They had returned right after the ceremony—still in their wedding clothes, still wearing the rings that caught the sunlight like tiny vows. Mina's heels sank into the soil as Aaron guided her through the narrow path that led to the cemetery on the hill.
She hadn't been here since before everything began. The sight of her mother's name carved in stone made her breath catch.
For a long time she didn't speak. She just stood there, veil lifting in the wind, eyes tracing each letter as if touching them would bring her mother back.
Aaron stayed a few steps behind her, hands in his pockets, watching her shoulders shake once, twice. Then he came forward and knelt beside her.
Mina pressed her fingers to the headstone. "I thought I'd tell her one day when it stopped hurting," she whispered. "But it never really stops, does it?"
Aaron shook his head. "It just becomes part of you."
She smiled weakly. "She'd like you, you know. She always said I'd marry someone who drove me crazy."
He let out a small laugh that broke in the middle. "Then she was right."
Mina looked at him then—really looked—and the ache in her chest eased a little. "I wish she could've seen this. The dress, Ellie… us."
Aaron reached out, his fingers covering hers where they rested on the stone. "I can't bring her back," he said softly. "But I can make sure you never have to stand alone again. That's my promise to her, and to you."
Tears spilled freely now, but Mina didn't hide them. She leaned into him, resting her forehead against his shoulder, and together they stayed there while the wind moved through the tall grass around them.
When she finally spoke again, her voice was steady. "You know what she'd tell me right now?"
"What?"
"To stop crying before I ruin my makeup."
Aaron smiled through the ache. "Smart woman."
They both laughed quietly, the kind of laughter that sits right beside grief and turns it gentle.
As the sun dipped low, painting the sky the color of forgiveness, Mina placed a small bouquet of white lilies at the base of the stone. The petals brushed against her wedding ring, the last diamond catching the light.
Aaron slipped an arm around her waist. "Ready to go?"
She nodded, wiping her tears. "Not really. But let's go anyway."
He kissed the side of her head. "That's my girl."
They walked down the hill together, hand in hand. Behind them, the graves shimmered in the golden light, quiet and peaceful. Ahead of them waited a life still being written—one they'd fill with Ellie's laughter, with arguments and forgiveness, with everything love was supposed to be.
For the first time in a long time, Mina didn't feel like she was leaving anyone behind.
She was finally taking them with her.