Chapter 10 - The Bloom
Ten years after the storm, Leo stood in a small town on the coast, overlooking a community garden that fed the entire neighborhood. He was twenty years old now. He had scars, he had a history, and he had a peace that the developer could never buy.
A group of children ran past him, laughing.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Silas, who had followed him, his prosthetic leg clicking on the pavement.
"Nice place," Silas said, looking at the vibrant flowers.
"It’s good enough," Leo replied.
He looked up at the sky. A dark cloud was forming, a storm coming in from the ocean. The wind picked up, rattling the fences and blowing the petals off the sunflowers.
Leo didn't run. He stood in the middle of the garden, feeling the first drops of rain. He knew the storm would come, and he knew it would break things. But he also knew something else.
May you like
He knew that tomorrow, when the wind died down and the water receded, there would be dirt. And in the dirt, there would be life.
Leo took a deep breath, tasted the rain, and waited for the morning.
