Chapters Twelve and Thirteen - Faith Under Soft Morning Light / A Chirp in Time
In Chapter Twelve, Tom writes a poem inspired by a walk on the beach—an exploration of faith's dual nature: its flexibility and its rigidity. He reflects on what it means to know who you are in the face of loss, cruelty, and the hypocrisy of those who "prey and pray" on the light.
In Chapter Thirteen (at minute 6:33), Tom drifts into sleep inside the barn and meets the cricket again—this time in the way station between life and what lies beyond. Together, they revisit the moment of his cardiac arrest at 24 years old: the first time he crossed into the in-between and was asked to choose—life or death.
He returned for a reason. A reason he couldn't name, but felt deeply in that quiet place… where you just know.
