Daniel Paul Rowell

“Yet the only eyes Ace fixed on were Julie’s. Life had returned to her, and a great mixture of sadness and joy wrestled in his heart. She cried. He cried. He ran to her with all the strength he had left, and she ran to him. They collided in an embrace, each of them squeezing tighter than the other. She heaved with sobs. Though he tried, Ace felt as if he couldn’t squeeze hard enough. No matter the force of the embrace, no matter the number of tears from his eyes, nothing amounted to the explosion of joy rushing through him.  “I’ve missed you so much,” Julie said. “I’ve missed you too,” Ace said. He squeezed tighter still. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever leave us to wonder about you.” He pulled from the embrace and they stared at each other. The tears had washed some of the dirt stained on her cheeks, but her smile somehow was the brightest and most rewarding smile he’d ever seen. “We stick together, Julie.” Another tear ran along his cheek. “That’s never going to change again. Understand?” She”
― D.P. Rowell, Stone and Man: A Fantasy Book for Kids Ages 9 12