Chapter 10 - Flying Free
That evening, as the sun began to set behind the red hills of Sedona Springs, the foundation guests departed, leaving the house quiet and peaceful.
Elise walked out onto the broad back patio—the very patio where, months ago, she had slaved over a smoker while forty guests ignored her existence.
Piper walked out beside her, holding two glasses of cold sparkling water.
"A toast," Piper smiled, raising her glass. "To Margaret Thorne. To Naomi Bell. And to the woman who kicked a birthday cake across a dining room."
Elise laughed—a rich, full sound that echoed warmly through the backyard. She clinked her glass against Piper’s.
"To flying free," Elise said softly.
She looked down at the patio tiles. They were clean, pristine, free of broken glass, red water, or old wounds.
Beside the patio door stood an old, worn wooden broom—the very broom Gregory had handed her when he told her to fly away from his house.
Elise walked over, picked up the broom, and carried it down the patio steps to the edge of the garden, where a warm fire pit was crackling merrily in the evening twilight.
She looked at the wooden handle for a moment, remembering the laughter of forty guests, the frosting on her dress, and the blood on her finger.
Then, with a calm, decisive motion, she tossed the broom into the center of the flames.
May you like
The dry wood caught fire instantly, crackling loudly as bright orange sparks danced up into the darkening evening sky, burning away the last lingering ghost of her past.
Elise turned her back on the fire and walked back toward her warm, sunlit home, her head held high, completely, beautifully free.
