Chapter 6 - Sunlight on the Grass
Three months later.
Saturday afternoon. The autumn sun was warm and golden, washing over our backyard.
The smell of grilled burgers drifted through the air. Mark was sitting on a lawn chair, laughing as he helped Noah build a massive wooden treehouse against the old oak tree near the fence.
I sat on the patio with a cup of tea, watching them.
Richard was gone from our lives. After the permanent restraining order was issued, he had quietly disappeared from the city, unable to fight the mountains of debt and legal notices that had caught up with him.
He would never call again. He would never step through our gate again. The ghost that had haunted my childhood memories for twenty years had been permanently laid to rest.
Noah ran across the grass toward me, holding a piece of pine wood with two messy nails driven into it.
"Mommy! Look!" he shouted, his face beaming with pure, uninterrupted pride. "Dad and I made the front door for the treehouse!"
I dropped to my knees on the soft grass, wrapping my arms around my healthy, happy, thriving little boy, pressing a deep kiss into his hair.
"It's the best treehouse door I've ever seen, Noah," I whispered, holding him tight.
Mark walked over, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, his warm hand resting gently on my shoulder.
I looked around at my home, my family, and the peaceful, beautiful life I had built with my own two hands out of the ashes of my childhood.
May you like
I hadn't just survived.
I had won.
