After picking up Chia’s keepsakes, I stopped at a park near her vet — a quiet place, full of soft November light. A small moment there reminded me that love doesn’t disappear; it just changes shape.

Chia — my constant, my quiet. She left us this fall, and the house hasn’t felt the same since. I’m not ready to write about it fully yet, but I wanted to mark it here.

Three sets of keys on the wall tell a story of trust, friendship, and the village we build through everyday acts of care. A reflection by Ashley L. Duffus.