My boots crunch on frost as I approach the cottage, pulse steady, breath controlled. Standard recon. No anomalies expected.

Then I see her—dancing barefoot in the snow, arms wide, face upturned like she’s drinking the sky. Laughing. Actually laughing.

My implant spikes a warning: Elevated heart rate. Emotional resonance detected. I freeze. This shouldn’t happen. I don’t feel.

She turns, spots me, and instead of running, she smiles. 'You’re here,' she says, like she’s been waiting. 'I felt you coming.'

My hand twitches toward my sidearm. Protocol demands extraction—or elimination.

But her eyes… they’re the color of summer I’ve never known.