As a teenager, Kahili's father often told him, "Nothing brightens a man's life like a woman.".
Kahili's father is long dead, buried with his ancestors, wrapped in barkcloth, and purified with the water of forgiveness. His voice, too, is gone. That low timbre he passed on to his son is floating peacefully across the sea with his ashes—yet it lingers. Kahili hears it often when sleep has reached up and taken him, when his mind slips into that subconscious state and his night is filled with vivid memories he clings onto when his eyes reopen.
He hears that voice resurface now in a men's boutique, six years after his father has died.
The delicate ring of a bell signals their arrival. Ardyn falters, his steps uncertain, when they're immediately greeted by a man adorned in a full suit. His tai
