Under that ancient oak, Alisha and I sat once more and recounted, this and other tales, our laughter threaded through leaves. Each shared story, a string pulling us closer, to each other, to the world, to generations passed, to the future. Love, loss, and the languishing loneliness of surrounding cities, our voices a symphony of human connection in a world that often feels too vast. It was in this vulnerability, this willingness to see and be seen, the walls crumbled and we discovered a bond in the shared journey, a solemn pact to navigate this world together.