As she carried me out, across the threshold of that blood-drenched house, I felt as if I could finally breathe again. But of course, now I didn’t have to. I let out a long sigh in the deep, clean winter nighttime. It took me a moment to realize what was missing: the cold. I almost laughed.

Melinda looked down at me, and I read the concern in her face. I must seem delirious. And maybe I was. I had no right, all things considered, to feel this good.

“I thought ...