Chapter 9 - The Fifth Year
Time moves differently when you live in peace. Weeks feel like days, and years pass with a quiet, beautiful grace that leaves you wondering how you ever survived the chaos of the past.
Two years passed.
Norah turned seven.
Her seventh birthday party wasn't held in a rented community center with cold fluorescent lights and humming bounce houses. It was held in our own backyard on Oakridge Lane.
The yard was decorated with paper lanterns, fairy lights strung through the oak trees, and long wooden tables covered in fresh flowers and pink tablecloths. Twelve children from her school class were running around the grass, playing tag and making crafts at a dedicated station Ellen had set up.
There was no tension. No one scanning the room for mistakes. No silent cruelty waiting behind polite smiles.
When it was time for the cake, we gathered around the long table under the warm glow of the fairy lights.
The cake was a beautiful two-tier strawberry cake, frosted in white buttercream and topped with seven sparkling gold candles. Across the front, written in elegant pink cursive icing, were the words: HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, NORAH!
I stood beside Marcus and Ellen, holding a camera, my heart so full it felt like it might burst out of my ribs.
Norah stood at the head of the table in a yellow sundress, her long brown hair tumbling over her shoulders, her face glowing with pure, unfiltered happiness.
"Okay, birthday girl!" Marcus called out cheerfully, holding up a camera of his own. "Make a big wish!"
Norah closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and leaned over the table.
She blew out all seven candles in one strong breath.
The entire yard erupted into cheers, applause, and laughter. Children squealed, clapping their hands, and Marcus let out a boisterous whistle.
Norah opened her eyes, looked straight past the cake, past the presents, and locked her big, beautiful brown eyes directly onto mine.
She didn't look afraid. She didn't look like she was waiting for someone to take her joy away. She looked complete.
She ran around the table, throwing her small arms around my waist, burying her face in my stomach.
"I love you, Mommy," she whispered against my dress.
May you like
I dropped to my knees, wrapping my arms tightly around her, holding her close under the warm evening sky.
"I love you too, my brave girl," I whispered back. "More than all the stars in the sky."
