Chapter 4: Emily's Promise
Months passed.
Sophie became one of the happiest children in the school.
She visited William often with Aunt Karen.
Sometimes they played checkers.
Sometimes they baked cookies.
Sometimes they simply sat together reading books.
One snowy afternoon Sophie noticed a framed photograph on the fireplace.
A little girl with bright eyes smiled beside William.
"Is that Emily?"
William nodded quietly.
"I still miss her every day."
Sophie walked over and looked carefully at the picture.
"I think..."
She hesitated.
"I think she would've wanted you to keep smiling."
William looked down.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because if she loved you..."
Sophie smiled gently.
"...she wouldn't want you to be lonely forever."
Those simple words reached places years of therapy never had.
That evening William finally opened every curtain inside the mansion.
For ten years he had kept them closed.
May you like
Sunlight filled every room the following morning.
It felt like the house had taken its first breath.
