Chapter 15: The Dogwood Tree**
That afternoon, the family drove out to the old cemetery at the edge of town.
The rain had long since ceased; the sky was an unbroken canopy of azure blue. The old grave pit that had once represented terror and death was no longer an open scar in the earth.
In its exact center stood a towering, majestic white dogwood tree, planted a decade prior. Its wide branches were completely covered in brilliant white blossoms, swaying gently in the summer breeze, casting cool, dappled shade across the emerald lawn.
Lily walked up to the trunk, placing her hand gently against the smooth bark.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Dad?” she asked softly.
May you like
Thomas stood between his two children, wrapping one arm around Lily’s shoulder and the other around Leo’s. He looked up through the canopy of white petals toward the brilliant sun shining down upon them.
“It is,” Thomas smiled, his heart full and complete. “Because life always wins.”
