Outside, the day cooled. Inside, the air held the residue of warmth: the gentle combustion of hard talk, the natural fragrance of a room that had held both truth and mercy. They left the bloom on the table, intact. Its petals would wilt in time, as all things do. For now, it was proof that something living had been at the center of their work — that repair, like a flower, can thrive when tended honestly and when the heat is applied with care rather than cruelty.