The air smelled like hope. Like rain. Like I could make it through the day. The war felt far away, for the moment. Everything felt far away. The pain, the fear, the heaviness in my chest as I thought about Darren, about how much he had on his shoulders, about how little I could do to help him. I watched Lyle pick his way along the path, pausing every now and then to make sure I could keep up, plucking a flower and holding it out for me. He did it all with a grin, with a shrug, like it was ...