Chapter 9

I stood with the young members of the hiking club, taking a group photo at the top of Ivoryspire Peak. By my count, I'd be able to finalize my divorce in another two weeks. On the day I left the Locke residence, I bought a one-way ticket to Velkhana. Benson and I used to talk about living in Velkhana for a while, but he had always been too busy with work, so we never got the chance. A week after staying in Velkhana, I joined a mountaineering club online. The club was filled with young people in their 20s. At first, they were worried I wouldn't keep up, but after climbing two mountains together, they stopped treating me like I was old. I had become fully part of their group. Sometimes, it felt like I had returned to being 20 again. What I hadn't expected was to run into Benson at the foot of the mountain. Or rather, it wasn't exactly a coincidence. He had come looking for me on purpose. After saying goodbye to my friends in the club, I took Benson to a small local café for drinks