The Ring of Hearth and Heart

Glen Affric, Highlands, 1940 — Evening. Iona MacLeod held the silver spoon in her hands, worn smooth from years of use, now reshaped into a simple ring. Sliding it onto her finger, she felt a quiet warmth, as if the silver carried the comfort of home itself. Outside, the world was uncertain — news of war, hardship, and worry pressing in — but within her small cottage, she could choose what mattered: laughter at the table, the scent of bread baking, and the love of family gathered close. The ring carried a lesson: the woes of the world should never weigh upon the heart. Each day Iona wore it, she remembered that what endures, what truly nourishes, is what you create and cherish within your home, and that peace begins where love is kept safe.