As dusk settled, he sat on a bench near the square, debating whether to abandon the search. Maybe the name belonged to no one anymore, swallowed by the same hillside that had erased the houses. He sighed, closing his notebook with a tired snap.
“Excuse me,” a voice said. Ethan looked up to see a woman in her sixties adjusting a shopping bag on her arm. “I couldn’t help overhearing. You’ve been asking about the Blackwoods?” His heart jolted. He nodded quickly, words catching in his throat.