The Resting Place of the Bear
Later that evening, after the guests had departed and the children had settled into their cozy cabins, Leah walked up the stairs to their private loft above the main clinic.
Mia was already fast asleep in her warm wooden bed, tucked beneath a thick quilt hand-sewn by Nora.
On the bedside table sat Barnaby the teddy bear, his one eye catching the moonlight streaming through the skylight. Beside him lay Mia’s silver sparrow bracelet and a copy of her favorite fairy tale.
Leah sat on the edge of the mattress, gently tucking the blanket around her daughter’s shoulders. She watched the deep, rhythmic, effortless rise and fall of Mia’s chest.
There were no inhalers on the nightstand anymore. No emergency alert monitors, no whispered threats in the hallway, and no fear of footsteps on the stairs.
Leah leaned down and kissed Mia’s temple, smelling the sweet, clean scent of fresh pine and lavender.
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"You gave me my life, sweet girl," Leah whispered into the quiet room. "And I gave you your sky."
Mia smiled in her sleep, nuzzling deeper into the soft flannel pillow.
