"I'm breathing on the other side," Krem said. Some nights, that knowledge was exhausting. Others, it was elating. Just to be breathing was a triumph in some ways, and Krem was glad for it.

He didn't know quite another word to call Aggie. Ward might not be the right one, but he didn't know what else to refer to her as. His Aggie.

"She's...she is as well," he said, though his mouth turned down a little. "I should make more time for her, I think. Her birthday is at the end of the month. I should do something for it, I think."