Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The house was still, wrapped in the hush of early morning. A soft blush of light crept through the curtains, casting golden streaks across the wooden floor. I stirred beneath the quilt, her body still aching in quiet places, but her heart—her heart felt light.
I slipped out of bed carefully, wrapping a shawl around my shoulders. The air was cool, the kind that hinted at spring but still carried the crispness of winter’s tail. I padded barefoot through the hallway to the closed door of Senna’s room, quietly opening the bedroom door, I poked my head through and watched for several minutes. Listening and watching my daughter softly snore like a little kitten that has just had a tummy full of warm milk and is now snuggling up to go back to sleep.
Making my way down to the kitchen, I stop at the coffee pot that had already brewed the coffee and fill the extra-large mug beside me. With a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I slowly open the back door, wincing as it creaks slightly as I open it. The garden, still strung with fairy lights from the night before, looked like something out of a dream. Dew clung to the grass, and the sky was painted in soft pastels—lavender, peach, and rose gold.
As I make my way to the lounge in the sunlight, I breathe in the scent of damp earth and jasmine. The world felt suspended in that moment—quiet, sacred. I sit and watch the run rise and the wild animal come and nibble on grass as I breathe in the future. I am so lost in thought that I don’t hear the door behind me open.
“You’re up early,” Daniel says, his voice husky with sleep.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I replied, not turning around. “I didn’t want to look back worried that if I did, then I couldn’t move forward.”
“Mm. What’s worrying you? You finally have a fairy tale ending, aren’t you happy?” Daniel asks as he sits beside me.
“I do, I do have a fairy tale ending, but I have this sick feeling that when I look behind me, I am going to be woken from this fairytale, and I am going to have to face reality that nothing got better, that this is all a dream, and I am still lying in the hospital”
“I get that. I think for the first few days after finding you and Senna, I was worried when it turned night that you were going to disappear. Then I put my big boy pants on and got over it,” Daniel says with a smirk as he nudges my shoulder.
“You're funny. Like, has anyone ever told you how unfunny you are?” I mutter as I nudge his shoulder back.
“For the last two months I have been feeling the same thing. I am worried that you and Senna aren’t real that this is a dream. Hell I have had this dream so many times over the years but for it to actually happen I feel like it is fake” Daniel mutters.
“Kinda like the sunrise” I murmur.
“Yeah, some days the sunrise is picture perfect, it almost looks fake, but it is real. Maybe we are just used to not having anything easy.” I murmur.
“Let’s look at it like the beginning. The beginning that we all deserve,” Daniel says as he turns his head to look back at the couch.
“I heard that you and Lachy are taking Senna fishing? Really, fishing, could you think of anything more boring?” I ask laughingly.
“We just don’t want Senna to go to school. I know that we vetted everyone, but we worry, and Senna admitted that she doesn’t want to go to school yet,” Daniel says sadly.
“WHAT! When she never mentioned that to me,” I say, sitting upright.
“Last night, Dana asked if she was excited, and she said that she was scared and worried and doesn’t want to go just yet. She also said that she was worried about you and the rest of us.”
“She doesn’t have to go. She can stay here with us. She is only little, she doesn’t need to go yet,” I say, almost crying.
“Things will work out.”
They sit in silence, watching the sun rise over the horizon. The light touched everything—turning the garden golden, making the dew sparkle like tiny stars.
“I used to be afraid of mornings,” I say softly. “When I was in the hospital, every morning felt like a reminder that I was still there. Still fighting. Still unsure.”
Daniel wraps his arm around my shoulders and tightens his hold on me. “And now?”
“Now, it's like a second chance, but one that is dependent on choices.”
Behind them, the door creaked again. Tristan steps out, rubbing his eyes, a blanket draped over his shoulders. “You two are ridiculous,” he muttered, but there was no bite in his voice.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I say
“I heard her moving around and didn’t want her sitting out here by herself. Plus, it is not often that I get her to myself,” Daniel says, standing and stretching before moving to the other lounge, making room for Tristan.
“Well, you should be resting,” Tristan says lovingly as he leans forward and kisses my forehead.
“Did you know about Senna not wanting to go to school?” I ask, pulling back to look into his eyes.
“Yeah, Daniel, as well as Dana, mentioned something last night after you fell asleep,” Tristan says.
“Would have been nice to be included in that conversation,” I mutter, glaring at Tristan
“Oh! Look, I need coffee. Anyone need a refill?” Daniel asks before quickly walking off, not waiting for the answers
“I was waiting to talk to you this morning, as you fell asleep last night. She asked if she could not go just yet until you are better.” Tristan said, pulling me closer to his body and the blanket.