Chapter 10 - The Resurrection of the Soul
The sun was setting over the ocean,
painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.
I sat on the porch of my cottage,
a cup of tea in my hands.
The gold necklace was around my neck,
the links warm against my skin.
It was a part of me now,
a symbol of my survival.
Sarah was visiting for the weekend,
sitting in the chair next to me.
“You look good,
Elena,”
she said,
smiling.
“I feel good,”
I replied.
“I feel like I’m finally home.”
We sat in silence for a long time,
watching the stars begin to appear in the darkening sky.
I thought about Daniel and Monica.
I didn't hate them anymore.
Hate was a heavy thing,
and I had had enough of heavy things.
They were in the dark now,
in a box of their own making.
I was in the light.
I looked at the headstone I had kept from the cemetery.
It sat in my garden,
hidden among the flowers.
Elena Carter.
1988 - 2024.
It was a reminder of the day I died.
And the day I was born.
I stood up and walked toward the water,
the sand cool between my toes.
I reached the edge of the waves,
the foam swirling around my ankles.
I looked out at the horizon,
at the infinite space of the future.
I had lost so much,
but I had gained myself.
I had learned that the human spirit is a resilient thing.
It can survive the poison,
the satin,
and the dirt.
It can find its way back to the light,
no matter how deep the hole.
I raised my arms to the sky,
the wind whipping through my hair.
I was Elena Carter.
I was thirty-six years old.
And my life was just beginning.
I turned and walked back toward the cottage,
toward the warmth and the friendship and the future.
The scent of lilies was gone forever.
There was only the smell of the sea.
And the breath of the living.
I went inside and closed the door.
I didn't lock it.
I wasn't afraid of the night anymore.
I was the one who controlled the shadows.
May you like
And I was never going back into the box.
The end.
