The uncertainty made avoidance feel safer.
Whenever the opportunity arose, she chose another road.
Months passed, then years.
The world continued to change around her. Trees grew taller. Buildings appeared where empty spaces had once been. People moved into new homes, children grew older, and ordinary life continued its steady movement forward.
Elira changed, too.
She became more patient with herself. She learned that healing was rarely as simple as making a decision and immediately feeling better. She began to understand that painful experiences could leave traces long after the most visible difficulties had passed.
She also learned that people could carry difficult memories while still building meaningful lives.
But the road remained untouched by her progress.
It was the one place she had never allowed herself to revisit.
Sometimes, she wondered whether she would ever feel ready.
She imagined driving there one day, parking beside the road, and looking at the place without feeling the need to escape. In those imagined moments, she always pictured herself feeling calm and confident, as though the passage of time had naturally prepared her for the experience.
