Page 337 of Black Reign

Papa carrying milk.

Papa trying to teach me how to bake bread and burning the first loaf because he got distracted by a computer.

Papa lying beside me in this field after sunset.

The sky above us overflowing with stars.

“Stars are code, ma puce.”

I was seven.

“They aren't code.”

“Everything is information.”

He pointed upward.

“Scripts running across the sky. We simply haven't learned all the language yet.”

I believed him.

Maybe part of me still does.

Because years later, I found a man made entirely of signals.

Words appearing in darkness.

A blinking indicator telling me I wasn't alone.

Ghost was code.

Until I learned his language.

Now he's walking beside me.

His palm warm around mine.

The priest smiles when we reach him.

The dog sits beside his robes as if he has rehearsed this.

I look down.

“Bonjour.”

His tail hits the grass.

Xavier mutters, “Don't encourage him.”

“He is my witness.”

“He's homeless.”

“So was I, technically.”

That wipes the irritation from Xavier's face.

His hand tightens around mine.