Clara knelt beside her son, whispering, “Say goodbye now.” Evan pressed his palm against the metal railing. “Thank you,” he said softly. The bear huffed once, deep and low, then turned toward the trees. Its fur caught the sun, flashes of copper in the damp. Each step sounded deliberate, unhurried.
When the forest swallowed it, the boy whispered, “He remembered me.” Parker exhaled. “He’ll avoid people now. He knows where his true home now.” Martinez folded his notepad. “Then maybe that’s enough,” he said. The rangers closed the gate. The sound of birds filled the clearing, light replacing weeks of storm.