Chapter 25
CHAPTER 26 — The Community Garden
With Mia’s life beautifully settled, Julia realized she had an abundance of time and energy that was no longer consumed by hyper-vigilance.
She began volunteering at a local women's shelter, but not in the counseling offices. She went to the overgrown, abandoned plot of land behind the facility.
She brought gloves, shovels, and bags of rich soil.
Slowly, she began to build a garden.
Women from the shelter started joining her. They didn't always talk about their trauma. Sometimes, they just talked about the weather, or the best way to prune tomato vines, or how stubborn the weeds were.
One afternoon, a young woman with a bruised cheek and terrified eyes sat next to Julia on a wooden bench, watching the seedlings.
"Does it ever stop feeling like the end of the world?" the young woman whispered, her voice trembling.
Julia took off her gardening glove. She looked at the young woman, seeing the exact reflection of her own past.
May you like
"It does," Julia said firmly, her voice carrying the absolute authority of a survivor. "One day, you are going to wake up, and you won't check the locks. You won't flinch at a loud noise. You are going to plant something, and you are going to watch it grow. I promise you, the world starts again."
The young woman looked at the green shoots breaking through the dark soil, and for the first time, she exhaled.
