The brightness somehow increased through the thin layer of his eyelids. He did not open his eyes, but heard a man respond to the woman. There was a melody to their interaction that harmonized with the choir and the birdsong floating through the garden.

“It’s almost over,” Timmy thought for what must’ve been the fourth time as he could count no higher. Not that he hadn’t tried – he just couldn’t remember what his ma said his thumb was called.