Chapter 30 - What We Protected
One year later, Grace and I stood in front of a new apartment.
We had moved. Not because we had to, but because we wanted a fresh start. A place with no old memories attached. A place that was truly ours.
Grace’s room had purple walls and a big window. She had filled it with books and drawings. On her desk sat a framed photo of the two of us from her eighth birthday.
Every night before bed, she still sometimes asked me to check that the door was locked.
And every night, I did.
Not because I was afraid anymore.
But because it made her feel safe.
And keeping Grace safe had become the most important thing in my life.
One evening, as we sat on the balcony watching the city lights, Grace leaned against me and said,
“Mom, I think I’m okay now.”
I looked down at her.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“I still get scared sometimes,” she admitted. “But not like before. And I know that even if I get scared, you’ll be here.”
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close.
“Always,” I said. “No matter what.”
Grace smiled — a real, bright, eight-year-old smile.
The kind of smile she used to have before that night.
The kind of smile I had fought to bring back.
We sat together in comfortable silence as the stars came out.
We had lost a lot.
But we had protected what mattered most.
Each other.
May you like
And that was enough.
That was everything.
