Mara waited.
In the end:
“Will you stay?”
She smiled.
"Yes."
That summer, the mountains turned green.
Rose learned to crawl first.
Ruth learned to stay first.
David built a house near the city and visited every week.
Samuel opened a school.
Mara planted wildflowers near the porch.
And Elias discovered that a house can be noisy.
Disordered.
Crowded.
Sometimes scary.
And yet deserve everything.
One evening, as the sunset was coloring the golden mountains, Mara found Elias standing outside with both sleeping girls stuck to his chest.
“You are caught,” she whispered.
“It looks like it does.”
“Do you need help?”
"No."
“You will be there all night.”
“It’s okay.”
Mara sat next to him.
For a while they watched the valley.
Mercy Ridge could be seen away below.
Not in the same city.
It's not a good city yet.
But maybe one day one capable of becoming better than the people who founded it.
