To come together again after being apart

📝 The lost dog was finally reunited with the family who had searched for weeks.

📖 After so long apart, Roz and Brightbill finally reunite at the farm — mother and son together once more.

A close, family-like bond or connection

📝 Though they were not related, the two boys felt a deep kinship after years as friends.

📖 The bond between Roz and Brightbill is a deep kinship — not of blood, but of love and the years they shared.

A gentle feeling of fondness or love

📝 She stroked the cat with obvious affection.

📖 Brightbill greets Roz with open affection, all his old fondness for his mother rushing back at once.

Extremely happy

📝 He was overjoyed when he heard he had won first prize.

📖 Roz is overjoyed to see her son alive and grown — the happiest she has felt since leaving the island.

Comfort given to remove someone's worries or fears

📝 A few words of reassurance from her coach calmed her nerves before the race.

📖 Brightbill brings Roz reassurance: the island is still there, and the animals still remember her.

To return a feeling or action in the same way

📝 When a friend is kind to you, it is natural to want to reciprocate.

📖 Roz cannot smile, but she reciprocates her son's love in every gentle movement and word.

Very happy and excited

📝 The whole team felt elated after scoring the winning goal.

📖 Elated by the reunion, Roz feels her sorrow lift, if only for a little while.

Full of joy; very happy

📝 The wedding was a joyous occasion, full of music and laughter.

📖 Their reunion is a joyous one, full of stories of everything that has happened since they last met.

No longer worried or afraid; freed from anxiety

📝 She was relieved to find her lost phone safe under the sofa.

📖 Roz is deeply relieved to learn that Brightbill survived the long migration and found his way to her.

Feeling that good things will happen

📝 Despite the rain, they remained hopeful that the picnic could still go ahead.

📖 For the first time in a long while, Roz feels hopeful — perhaps returning home is not impossible after all.

Kind, calm, and careful; not rough or harsh

📝 The nurse had a gentle voice that put every patient at ease.

📖 Roz has always been gentle with Brightbill, and even now, reunited, that gentleness has not changed.