The Last Gathering

We all knew it was the last time we would all be in the same room together, though nobody said it.

Leo brought his camera, which he always did. But that evening he put it down on the table after one photograph and didn't pick it up again. Some moments, he said later, are better kept in your body than in a frame.

Elias made something in the kitchen that he refused to name. Sophia brought the blanket she always brought. Julian was very quiet.

Eleanor, at some point, said: I think we were lucky. And no one disagreed.

The city below was full of lights. The night was warmer than it should have been. We stayed until we were the last people awake.