Oh! I reread it from that perspective and can totally see how such an interpretation is justifiable. ::smacks forehead:: Thank you so much for saying so. This also helps me understand the diversity in responses--I expect you’re not the only one to read it that way. It would not be difficult--the work of a sentence or two--to make it clear the final scene is not a flashback, or even to make some of the earlier clues less subtle. But it does raise the question of whether it should be attempted. Perhaps the story is stronger for the ambiguity, however unintended, and readers can interpret it as they wish. In any case, your initial reading may be the more profound.
~ Renée
