Chapter 10 - The Horizon Ahead
Two years later.
The airport terminal in Cincinnati was bustling with travelers, but I only had eyes for the arrival gate. Brinley stood beside me, now nine years old, wearing a bright yellow sundress and a backpack shaped like a turtle. She was tall, healthy, and her laughter was the loudest sound in my world.
We were boarding a flight to Munich. Not because I was running away, and not because I had to work. We were going on a summer vacation to show my daughter the beautiful Bavarian forests, the castles, and the places where I had spent five long years wishing upon stars for her safety.
My engineering firm had allowed me to transition fully to a remote consultant position based in Ohio, ensuring I would never have to miss another school play, another loose tooth, or another bedtime story for the rest of my life.
"Mama, do you think they have giant pretzels there?" Brinley asked, tugging on my hand as the gate agent called our boarding group.
"The biggest pretzels you've ever seen," I laughed, pulling her passport out of my bag.
May you like
As we walked down the jet bridge, the sun broke through the terminal windows, casting a brilliant, golden light over the tarmac ahead of us. Brinley clutched her locket with one hand and my fingers with the other, her step light and confident.
The basement door was gone, locked away in a past that could no longer reach us. The chains were broken, the debt was paid, and the future was wide, bright, and entirely ours to build.
