How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 631

Elodie hadn't slept a wink last night, and the storm of emotions had left her utterly drained. Her body felt leaden, every muscle aching with exhaustion.

She sipped a glass of water to soothe her parched throat, then shuffled back to the bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. It surprised her how much energy it took just to be angry, to shout and argue. She was realizing, with a kind of helpless resignation, that she no longer had the strength for these endless battles.

Sleep didn't come easily. She drifted in and out, her mind restless and unsettled.

Late in the morning, the doorbell rang.

Elodie forced herself up, weary limbs protesting. She peered through the peephole and saw a courier waiting on the porch.

She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ordered anything, but nothing came to mind.

"Ms. Thorne, I have a package for you. Could you please sign here?"

She glanced at the label-the box was definitely addressed to her, name and phone number printed in neat block letters.

"Thank you. Have a good day," she managed, accepting the parcel and closing the door behind her.

The box wasn't heavy. She weighed it in her hands, then checked the shipping label. It had been sent from a small, remote town, somewhere she'd never even heard of. The shipment date was a week ago.

She opened the box and found, right on top, a large envelope containing a certificate.

and unfolded it. For a moment, she simply stared,

for various contributions. But these weren't money

been built, bearing her name and Jarrod's. Ten schools scattered across different counties and small towns, some so distant she had to double- check the locations. The farthest was in the mountains,

come from one of those

the

filled with local specialties

In

one carefully wrapped. There were

their eyes bright but their faces thin, hollowed by years of

the pictures, but there was a glimmer of

you notes from teachers and parents, all sharing their

the very

letter from

words

The

finally opened just a few weeks ago. He mentioned Elodie and Jarrod by name, saying they'd brought hope to children who'd had so little, that they'd

the steady flow of gratitude washing over her. She'd never actually been

these children's stories.

Suddenly, the memory

had gone with

between the