Chapter 9 - First Steps
Two weeks after the storm, the sky cleared into a brilliant, cloudless afternoon.
Elena and Leo came over for dinner. The heavy glass doors of the Hale mansion were pushed wide open, letting the warm evening breeze flow through the once-silent halls.
Oliver was sitting on the outdoor patio rug. Leo was at the far end of the lawn, showing off a paper airplane he had folded.
“Ollie! Watch this one fly!” Leo called out, tossing the plane into the air.
The paper plane caught a gust of wind, spiraled through the air, and landed right in the middle of the lawn—about ten feet away from Oliver.
Oliver looked at the plane. He looked at Leo. Then he looked at his father, who was standing nearby.
Jonathan didn't move to help him. He simply smiled, stepped back, and nodded. “Go get it, buddy.”
Oliver placed his palms on the floor. He pushed himself up. His legs wobbled, but this time, he didn't hold onto a bench or a wooden frame.
He balanced on his own.
One shaky step forward. His foot planted into the grass.
A second step. His knees buckled slightly, but he caught himself.
A third step. A fourth step.
Oliver was walking.
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He didn't walk like a clinical patient following a doctor's command; he walked like a free child reaching for a toy. He took six full, unassisted steps across the green lawn before falling right into Leo’s arms, both boys tumbling into the grass in a fit of hysterical laughter.
Jonathan dropped to his knees. Tears rained down his face, soaking into the same ground he had once tried so hard to protect his son from touching. Elena placed a warm hand on Jonathan's shoulder, smiling through her own tears.
