Summer in Frost Haven was a quiet kind of miracle The ice pulled back from the bay leaving dark blue water that smelled of salt and life The sky turned long and golden and the sun refused to set fully The whole town moved slower softer like they were afraid to break the calm Michael sat outside the fire post with a mug of weak tea watching the volunteers paint the railings white Elena was across the square talking with the mayor her hair tied back with a thin ribbon She looked so at home that it made his chest ache

The bakery opened again that month The first batch of bread sold out before noon People came from nearby towns just to taste it The smell drifted through the streets like memory The sign above the door read Elena’s Hearth in crooked red letters Michael teased her about it She told him to shut up and buy another loaf He did gladly

They had fallen into a rhythm that felt almost like a dream Mornings training Afternoons helping with repairs Evenings by the dock drinking coffee that was always too strong Sometimes they spoke for hours sometimes not at all He didn’t need words to know how she felt and she didn’t need them to know how much he cared It was in the way he carried extra tools for her or the way she brushed snow off his shoulders without thinking

One evening the mayor asked to see them both He said the council wanted to honor them for their work and that the town wanted to make it a real celebration a festival not just a ceremony They tried to refuse but no one listened A week later the whole town gathered by the bay again Lights strung between poles food laid out on wooden tables children chasing each other through the grass The air was cool but gentle The aurora shimmered faintly above the horizon even though it was still early evening

When the music started Elena pulled him toward the crowd He said I don’t dance She said You walk through fire but you can’t dance He said Fire doesn’t have rhythm She laughed pulled him closer anyway He moved awkward at first his boots heavy on the ground but she guided him slow and light The rest of the world blurred away He saw only her eyes the color of storm clouds and calm seas She whispered You’re doing fine He said I have a good teacher

As the night deepened the mayor stood on a small stage and called their names The crowd clapped and cheered Someone handed Michael a wooden plaque carved with the words For Courage and Heart Frost Haven Fire Post He held it up but all he saw was Elena smiling beside him He gave it to her and said You earned this more than I did She said We both did They stood there together under the string lights and for a moment he forgot how old he was or how much time had passed He felt young again

After the crowd drifted away the two of them walked down to the water The aurora brightened over the sea now full and alive ribbons of green and blue and white folding into each other The reflection on the bay looked like another sky beneath their feet She said I used to make wishes on these lights when I was a kid I thought they were spirits watching us He said Maybe they still are She said Then what would you wish for He looked at her and said Nothing I already have it

She turned toward him quiet for a moment Then she reached into her coat and pulled out a small silver ring simple and unpolished She said It was my mother’s She wore it her whole life I want you to have it He shook his head said No that’s not mine to take She said You don’t understand I’m not giving it to you I’m asking if you’ll give me yours She smiled nervously and said I know we are not kids and we don’t need promises but I want to say this out loud before I lose the courage Will you stay Will you be with me

He stared at her the world behind her all light and color He felt the words forming before he even thought them He said Yes but it came out rough and real He took her hands in his They fit perfectly like they always had He said You don’t have to ask twice She slipped the ring onto his finger it was a little small but it stayed Then he took the small badge from his jacket the one with his name from his first station back in Ohio and gave it to her She said What is this He said My first promise I think it should belong to my last

They didn’t kiss right away They just stood there breathing in the cold and the salt and the quiet The aurora moved above them slow and steady wrapping the world in color Then she leaned forward touched her forehead to his and said You’re stuck with me now He said I was already stuck the day I ran into that fire

The next morning the whole town buzzed with the news somehow everyone knew before they even said anything People brought flowers food laughter The children made paper lanterns and wrote their names on them for good luck The mayor called it the Aurora Vows day said it should happen every year to remind everyone that life can start again even after fire

That night Michael and Elena stood at the edge of the bay once more watching the sky dance The lanterns floated across the water tiny sparks of gold below the vast green light She rested her head on his shoulder He said You ever wonder how we ended up here She said Maybe the fire chose us both He said Then for once I’m grateful to it She smiled without speaking

The air was still The lights above shimmered like breath The world around them small but perfect He thought of everything that had brought him here the long years the sirens the losses the miles between where he began and where he stood now He felt peace complete and quiet The kind that does not fade with morning The kind that means home