My dad squeezed my hand. “You’ve got this, Amber. We’re so proud of you.”
With that, they stepped back, leaving me alone under the vast, open sky. The aurora borealis danced above me, ribbons of green and purple light weaving across the heavens. It was breathtaking, and for a moment, it almost made me forget the nerves twisting in my stomach.
But then the moon reached its zenith, and there was no turning back.
I pulled off my clothes, the cold biting at my skin. Taking a deep breath, I let the stillness of the night settle over me, listening to Autumn’s steady encouragement in the back of my mind.
The icy air bit into my skin as I stood at the edge of the frozen lake, the moon hanging heavy above me like an unblinking eye. My parents’ reassuring words lingered in my mind, but t
