Those who won our independence... valued liberty as an end and as

Host: The wind carried the scent of iron and smoke down the harbor, where the old shipyard lay — abandoned, rusted, half-swallowed by fog. The sun had barely begun to rise, its pale light slicing through the mist like a reluctant promise.

Jack stood near a broken crane, his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, his breath visible in the cold air. He looked out toward the sea, where waves struck the rocks with stubborn, rhythmic defiance — as though each crash declared: we are still here.

A few paces behind him, Jeeny approached, her footsteps soft against the wet wood. Her hair whipped across her face, her eyes bright despite the morning gloom.

The sky was vast, empty, a kind of freedom that felt both beautiful and cruel.

Jeeny: “Louis Brandeis once said, ‘Those who won our independence valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness, and courage to be the secret of liberty.’”

Jack: without turning “