Chapter 10 - The Orchard of Peace
Six months later, autumn had returned to Wisconsin, painting the rolling hills of Door County in brilliant shades of amber, crimson, and gold.
Morgan stood on the old screened porch of her grandmother Clara’s cottage, holding a warm mug of spiced apple cider. The morning breeze carried the crisp, sweet scent of ripe apples and falling leaves from the orchard just beyond the yard.
The cottage had been completely restored. The wooden floors had been polished, the old windows repaired, and the sunroom filled with blooming potted plants. No debts hung over her head; no toxic presence lurked in the shadows.
She walked down the wooden steps into the orchard, running her fingers gently across the rough bark of the old apple trees that had sheltered her childhood summers.
As she looked out across the peaceful landscape, her thoughts drifted briefly to the eccentric old woman in the grey trench coat and green beret on the CTA bus. She had never seen Margaret Vance again after that morning in Oak Park, but Morgan carried her wisdom like a shield and a beacon.
May you like
Morgan smiled softly, taking a slow sip of her cider.
She was thirty-six, independent, fiercely resilient, and completely free. The past was a closed chapter, and as the morning sun broke through the golden canopy of the orchard, Morgan knew that her real life was only just beginning.
