Chapter 45
The Garden Beyond Time
"Mother..."
The word broke from my lips like a prayer.
I ran across the moonlit garden and threw my arms around her.
For one perfect moment...
She held me.
Her embrace was warm.
Gentle.
Everything I had imagined through countless lonely nights.
Tears streamed down my face.
"I thought you left me."
Ariana stroked my hair the way only a mother could.
"I never left you."
Her voice trembled with emotion.
"I carried you in my heart every single day."
I buried my face against her shoulder.
"I missed you."
"I know."
"So much."
"I know."
The words I had kept inside for twenty-three years poured out between sobs.
She never interrupted.
She simply held me until the storm inside my heart began to settle.
When I finally stepped back, she smiled
