Nobody paid attention to the forgotten elderly woman, until a young Black teen gently clasped her hand. She turned out to be a billionaire…

«‘I just wanted to make sure she got home safe,’ he said, quietly but firmly. «‘That’s all it was.’ Charles regarded him for a moment, neither offended nor insistent. «‘And you did,’ he replied.

«‘But she believes you gave her more than directions. She said you gave her back a sense of herself. She’d very much like to tell you that in person.’ André looked toward Mr. Johnson, who shrugged with the same indifference he used to mask concern.

«‘Go,’ he said. «‘Your cot’ll be here if you need it.’ With a breath that felt too large for his chest, André nodded and followed Charles out. The drive to Oak Hill was surreal in daylight.

The trees that had loomed like shadows the night before now stood tall and still, sentinels of some secret forest path. The turns felt shorter, the hills less steep, but André still remembered every one of them, each stone and slope etched into the memory of his legs. When they reached the Grand White House it no longer looked like a monument but a memory.

Familiar, softened by the hour, Charles led him through the side entrance into a room filled with sun and old books and quiet warmth. There, seated by the window, was Evelyn, not the dazed, wandering woman from the night before, but someone entirely different. Her eyes were sharp, her hair neatly pinned, and when she saw André, her smile broke over her face like mourning over mountains.

«‘You,’ she breathed, her voice trembling just enough to show its truth. «‘You brought me home.’ She reached for his hands, her grip gentle but insistent. «‘I remember everything, every street, every word.

You didn’t treat me like a stranger, you made me feel… safe.’ André bowed his head, unsure what to say, the praise feeling too large for the simple act he had performed. But Evelyn wasn’t done. She leaned forward, her eyes searching his.

«‘I don’t know your story,’ she said, «‘but I’d like to, and if you don’t have a place to go, I would be honored to offer you one here. Not just for tonight. For longer, if you’d let me.

This house has too many rooms and not enough kindness. You would change that.’ André blinked, the offer catching him completely off guard. It was generous, more than generous, and yet something in him resisted.

He took a step back, his voice low but steady. «‘That’s kind of you, really. But I didn’t do this to get anything…