Chapter 23 - EMMA'S FIRST SCHOOL
Emma started preschool that autumn.
On her first morning, she wore a red dress nearly identical to the one she had worn the day Matteo found her.
She stood at the front door clutching her backpack.
“I don't want to go.”
Sophia crouched beside her.
“It's okay to be scared.”
Matteo joined them.
“Want me to walk inside with you?”
Emma nodded.
Together, they entered the school.
Children played everywhere.
Teachers smiled.
Everything was bright and unfamiliar.
Emma squeezed Matteo's hand.
Then a little girl approached.
“What's your name?”
Emma answered softly.
“Emma.”
“Do you want to draw?”
Emma looked at Matteo.
He nodded.
She let go of his hand.
“Okay.”
Matteo watched her walk away.
For a moment, he felt something unexpected.
Fear.
He had spent years protecting people from physical danger.
But he couldn't protect Emma from every disappointment.
He realized that loving someone meant allowing them to become brave without you.
That afternoon, Emma ran out of school smiling.
“I made a friend!”
Matteo crouched down.
“What's her name?”
Emma laughed.
“Lucy.”
Sophia watched them from the car.
May you like
Her daughter was no longer surviving.
She was beginning to live.
