As Rita's belly grows, Brad Village prepares with hot water, clean cloth, food, and the practiced hands of a midwife. The long night of birth is carried not by one hero but by an entire household and village. Hands that have known battle discover a different kind of responsibility when holding a newborn. Far away in Aurea, Marida receives a small birthday gift shaped by the same village warmth. The hearth fire links birth, family, memory, and the lives that continue after loss.