She glanced up toward the rehabilitation windows, where a single light still glowed. Somewhere behind that glass, a geologist was relearning ordinary days filled with coffee, conversation, and the strange luxury of being heard. The earth beneath the city was calm for now, its message finally acknowledged instead of ignored.
As Helen walked to her car, the ground felt solid because, when it moved, someone had listened in time. She thought back to the first gibberish words he’d forced through a broken throat. She smiled, thinking how long his warning had waited to be delivered and how it might just have saved them all.