short fiction · 2026-10-12

Amber Glow II: The Keeper's Vigil

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the hush before dawn, the keeper tends the oven's heart, where embers breathe amber light. They watch the loaf rise, not with hunger, but with reverence—each swell a promise, each crack a secret whispered. The recipe lives not in ink, but in the rhythm of breath and flame, a quiet alchemy that turns time into sustenance. When the crust sings, they know: the glow was never just in the bread, but in the waiting.