The river curved around the town of Alder Creek like a patient listener, wide and slow and reflective, carrying seasons on its surface. Mornings arrived with mist rising from the water, softening the clapboard houses that lined the bank and blurring the line between what was solid and what was passing. People here measured time by floods and droughts, by the return of geese and the color of leaves drifting downstream. Mara Ellison stood at the small overlook near the boat launch, hands tucked into her jacket pockets, breathing in the cool air. At thirty seven, she had learned to arrive early to places, as if giving herself time might…

Morning arrived gently in the town of Briar Hollow, carried on the sound of church bells and the smell of bread rising from the corner bakery. The town sat in a shallow valley where fog lingered longer than expected, softening edges and muting color until the sun climbed high enough to insist on clarity. Houses lined the main road with deliberate patience, each one familiar with the rhythm of seasons and neighbors. Elena Moore stood in the bakery doorway, tying her apron as the last bell faded. At thirty five, she had learned how to move through mornings with efficiency, yet some days carried a heaviness she could not quite…

The town of Maple Crossing folded itself around a single long road that followed the creek until it disappeared into farmland. Houses sat back from the pavement with porches that faced the street as if watching for something familiar to return. In the evenings, porch lights clicked on one by one, a quiet choreography learned over generations. The air carried the smell of cut grass and warm soil, and the sound of cicadas rose and fell like breath. June Callahan stood at the edge of her front porch, hands resting on the rail, watching dusk settle. At thirty eight, she had returned to Maple Crossing two years earlier after her…

Cedar Street ended just past the old fire station, where the pavement gave way to gravel and the town of Hollow Bend seemed to exhale. Beyond it stretched open land and a line of trees that caught the evening light in a way locals had learned to love without comment. The street itself carried the marks of long familiarity. Mailboxes leaned at slight angles. Lawns blended into one another without fences. People waved because they always had. Iris Calder parked her car outside the fire station just after sunset, cutting the engine and sitting still for a moment. The building was no longer active, its doors painted shut, but the…

The water tower rose above Linden Falls like a patient sentinel, its rounded body catching the first light of morning before any other structure in town. The name of the town was painted in blue letters that had faded unevenly over the years, the edges softened by sun and rain. Below it, streets curved gently around a cluster of brick buildings and wooden houses, all arranged as if the town had grown by instinct rather than design. Morning arrived quietly here, carried on the sound of sprinklers clicking on and the distant bark of a dog being let outside. Hannah Price unlocked the front door of the town newspaper office…

The town of Redwillow sat where two highways nearly met and then decided against it, curving away from each other like old acquaintances who no longer needed to collide. Grain silos rose at the edge of town, pale against the sky, and the water tower carried the faded name that everyone still recognized even when the paint peeled further each year. The mornings were quiet in Redwillow, broken only by the distant sound of trucks and the steady rhythm of routine. Maeve Collins unlocked the public library just after eight, the metal key cool against her fingers. The building was modest but well kept, brick walls softened by climbing ivy…

The town of Briar Hollow rested in a shallow valley where the road narrowed and the hills leaned inward, as if sheltering it from the rest of the world. At dusk, porch lights flickered on one by one, and the glow settled over the sidewalks like a shared habit rather than a decision. The movie theater sat at the corner of Main and Cedar, its single screen announced by a faded marquee that still changed letters by hand. It had been there longer than anyone could remember, and for many, it was the clearest marker of home. Lena Whitaker stood inside the theater lobby, balancing on a small ladder as…

The first bell of the day rang at seven sharp, echoing across the small square of Marrowfield. It came from the white steeple of the town church, its sound carrying over brick storefronts and narrow streets that curved rather than intersected cleanly. The town woke gently, as it always did, with delivery trucks rolling in slow arcs and shopkeepers lifting metal grates with unhurried familiarity. Beyond the square, fields stretched toward low hills, still silvered with early light. Nora Whitcomb stood inside the florist shop she had inherited from her aunt, trimming stems with careful precision. The windows were fogged from the contrast between cool morning air and the warmth…