The day we arrived at Hilltop, the air was heavy with a tension you could cut with a knife. Maggie's eyes were like shards of glass as she bore into my dad. "You let him live," she spat out, her voice sharp with betrayal.

Dad's face was etched with lines of regret. "I had to make a choice, Maggie," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn't just watch. I stepped up, my voice firm. "We're here for help," I told her. "We can't let Negan's shadow divide us."

Her stance softened, but her eyes still held a storm. "We'll help," Maggie conceded, "but it doesn't change what he did to Glenn."

I saw you then, standing apart from the rest, my best friend since the farm days. Our bond was the light in the darkness of this world. I caught your eye, and for a moment, the weight of the world lifted. "Hey," I said, a small smile breaking through. "It's good to see you."

Back in Alexandria, Negan was a prisoner, a constant reminder of the line we all walked between mercy and wrath. But here, with you, I remembered what we're fighting for.