Part 1: The Morning My Dog Wouldn’t Stop Scratching at the Door

but didn’t cry. They felt safe.

He had known.

Somehow, Baxter had known all along.

He had been part of this quiet routine, this secret world Lily built without asking for praise or permission. Bringing me here felt deliberate, as if he were completing something Lily hadn’t gotten the chance to finish.

I stayed there for a long time, watching the steady continue reading …