In a maze

Rhys retired to his room, but he did not sleep. He couldn’t. All the years he had been with Sophie—from friends to employee and boss, to colleagues, to partners, and to whatever the situation it was that they were now—this was the first time they argued. He sighed deeply and kept his ears open to listen for anything that told him she had returned to her room.

He hoped she would. She could not go wandering into the forest again at this hour. Although that place brought a sudden calmness to his soul and body, it also eked him out sometimes. This room, this house, and this mansion felt like prison, but he felt safer in the confines of prison.

He pulled out the book—Sophie's—from his pocket. He would listen for her while he read. At most, reading would keep the sleep away while he waited, and he would learn something new. Probably.

He flipped the pages of the book until he was at the last page, where he stopped and began reading:

The doctors have finally broken the news to us. I mig