She had spent so long thinking of the location as a place defined by one terrible event that she had never seriously considered everything that had happened there afterward.
The tree suggested another history.
A history of care.
Someone had chosen to plant it.
Someone had carried out the work, placed it in the ground, and allowed it to become part of the landscape. Someone had believed that the location deserved more than the memory of what had happened.
Elira approached the plaque.
The lettering was weathered, but she could still make out the message. The tree had been planted in memory of people affected by the accident.
She read the words once.
Then she read them again.
For several moments, she stood completely still.
The plaque did not provide a new explanation for the accident. It did not change the facts of what had happened, and it could not remove the consequences that had followed.
