Chapter 10 - The Winter Solstice
The winter solstice arrived with the longest night of the year, but inside our home, it felt like the brightest solstice we had ever known.
The living room tree was decorated with handmade ornaments Ivy and I had spent the weekend crafting out of pinecones, felt, and leftover copper wire from the shop. A cheerful fire crackled in the stone fireplace, casting dancing amber shadows across the hardwood floors.
Ivy was curled up in the oversized armchair with a battered copy of *The Chronicles of Narnia*, her wool socks tucked under her knees, while the scent of roasted chicken drifted from the kitchen.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table. I glanced down. It was a text from an unknown number—a local legal aid office informing me that Nora had officially filed for bankruptcy and relocated to another state to live with her sister, completely dropping out of the county jurisdiction. Russ, meanwhile, had been evicted from his brother’s apartment and was currently facing trial for failure to pay child support on a separate, older claim from another county entirely.
I archived the notification, turned the phone face down, and smiled.
The past was a locked room, and I had thrown away the key.
I walked over to the armchair, draping a warm wool blanket over Ivy’s shoulders. She looked up, her bright blue eyes shining in the firelight.
“Are we having pancakes for dinner again tonight, Daddy?” she asked with a hopeful grin.
“Only if you help me flip them,” I laughed, sitting down on the edge of the ottoman.
“Deal!” she cheered, leaping out of the chair and grabbing my hand.
May you like
As we walked together into the warm, bright kitchen, the snow fell softly outside against the glass, burying the past beneath a clean, white blanket of absolute peace.
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