She was learning to remember the place differently.
Not because the original memory had become false, but because it was no longer the only memory she had of it.
The tree continued to grow.
And Elira continued to grow, too.
Learning to Live Beside the Past
As time passed, Elira found herself reflecting on a lesson she had once struggled to understand.
Moving forward did not require forgetting.
For a long time, she had assumed that recovery would eventually make the accident feel distant enough that it no longer affected her decisions. She believed she needed to reach a point where the memory became harmless before she could consider herself truly at peace.
That expectation had created unnecessary pressure.
Whenever the memory returned, she wondered whether she had made enough progress. When a familiar road caused discomfort, she questioned whether the years of rebuilding her life had accomplished anything.
But the visits to the tree gradually helped her recognize another possibility.
