Chapter 29 - THE THREE WORDS
On the anniversary of the day Emma first warned me about Vivien, I placed the old gray rabbit on the dining table.
Its ear was still stitched twice.
Emma sat beside it.
“You kept him?”
“Of course.”
“He's ugly.”
“I know.”
“He's missing an eye.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“Then why?”
“Because he was there.”
She understood.
Some objects became sacred because they carried memory.
I placed three gold coins beside the rabbit.
Emma looked at them.
“Three wishes?”
“Three wishes.”
She picked up the first.
“What would you wish for?”
“Nothing.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You're not supposed to waste wishes.”
She laughed.
“I learned from Sofia.”
Then she picked up the second.
“I wish Mommy stays healthy.”
Clara smiled.
Emma picked up the third.
“I wish you stop looking backward.”
I felt tears gather.
“What about forward?”
She placed the coin in my hand.
“Forward.”
I closed my fingers around it.
For seven years, grief had kept me facing backward.
Now the smallest person in my house had turned my hands toward tomorrow.
I looked at Clara.
She smiled.
I looked at Emma.
She smiled wider.
Then she held out her arms.
I hugged her.
May you like
Some wishes didn't need magic.
They needed courage.
