He nodded. “More than I loved the truth.”

“Dad?” the boy said. Then he looked at the real Kaelen. “Who’s that?”

The official report said: “Subject lost in non-resonant timeline. Rescue probability: 2%.”

The air on the other side was warm, soft, real. Mira was at the stove, her back to him, humming an old song. Their dog, a golden retriever who had died three years ago in his world, lay sleeping on the rug.