The Final Night

Days later, Jake found him beneath the house, curled near the vent, still and alone. They buried him beneath the oak tree in the backyard, the same spot that caught the nursery light at sunrise. Mia wrapped him in the soft flannel blanket they used to line his terrarium. Ava slept through it all, peaceful in a way that no longer felt mysterious.

The couple believed, without doubt, that Nimbus had spent his final nights watching over their child, not as a pet but as a brave guardian. Sometimes, loyalty doesn’t look the way we expect. And sometimes, the smallest lives leave the deepest marks.