At thirty-seven, Elo did something she’d been avoiding for years. She went back to the old Vale mansion.
Ariston had kept it all this time, but never visited. Now he was ready to sell.
“Do you want to see it one last time?” he asked.
Elo hesitated.
“Maybe I should,” she said.
Sky offered to come.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” Sky said.
The gates squeaked as they opened, rust creeping up their hinges. The mansion looked smaller somehow—less like a fortress, more like an old house.
Inside, dust covered the furniture. Sheets draped over couches like ghosts. The air smelled stale.
They walked down familiar hallways.
Elo stopped at the bathroom doorway.
“This is where it happened,” she whispered.
She stepped inside and faced the mirror.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you then,” she said softly to the girl she used to be. “But you survived. You became strong. You helped thousands of people.”
Her voice cracked.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said.
Sky stood in the doorway, wiping tears from her own eyes.
“You’re allowed to let it go now,” Sky said.
“I’m ready,” Elo replied.
They walked out to the garden, to the oak tree that had watched so much of their lives.
“The tree survived too,” Elo said.