CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 30: THE BEGINNING OF FORGIVENESS
A few days after Christmas, I couldn't sleep.
I walked into the living room and found my mother awake.
She was sitting by the tree.
The lights reflected in her eyes.
"I used to do this when you were little," she said.
"What?"
"Sit here after everyone was asleep."
I sat beside her.
She smiled.
"I loved watching you sleep on Christmas Eve."
I laughed softly.
"That's a little creepy."
She laughed too.
Then the smile faded.
"I wasted so much time."
I looked at her.
"No."
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
I took a deep breath.
"I think we lost a lot of time."
She looked down.
"But I don't think it was wasted."
Tears filled her eyes.
"Really?"
I nodded.
"Because we're here now."
She covered her face.
I moved closer and gently held her hand.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered:
"Do you forgive me?"
The question hung in the air.
I thought about everything.
The hurt.
The anger.
The years.
The house.
The letters.
The hospital.
The drawings.
The new memories.
I squeezed her hand.
"I'm trying."
She cried softly.
And for some reason, that answer seemed to bring her peace.
Because forgiveness isn't a door.
It's a path.
And that night, for the first time, I realized something.
I had already taken the first step.
Outside, snow began to fall.
Inside, the Christmas lights glowed softly.
And beside me sat my mother.
No longer an enemy.
Not yet completely healed.
But no longer lost to me.
The second half of our story was beginning.
May you like
And this time...
it would be about learning how to stay.
