The final chime rang out, soft and even, and the screens across the study froze in place. Everything held in mid-motion as if the moment itself wanted to be remembered.
Ethan's hand was still half-raised, just beginning its fall after pointing something out that needed no words.
Everly's weight had just shifted into the ground, steady and sure after a step that balanced the others without forcing her way forward.
Evelyn's lips were parted, the shadow of a word hanging there like a seed that would only sprout once the bell allowed her to finish.
They were not captured in a triumph that could be turned into a headline, nor in the fear that would make spectators lean forward with hungry eyes.
They were caught in the middle of the work, and that quiet honesty was the picture the house liked best.
"They'll eat," Elowen said softly, almost to herself, as though naming the ordinary things made them more sacred.
