Chapter 16 - THE MUSIC BOX RETURNS
Three weeks later a package arrived at the safe house.
No return address. No note. Just the music box.
I opened it carefully. The letter was still there. The memory card was still there. And beneath the velvet lining, a single folded page in Vanessa’s handwriting.
*I kept my promise. She loved you best. Protect her memory. And protect Mia. I am sorry. For everything.*
That was all.
I sat with the music box in my lap for a very long time. Vanessa had returned the one thing she had asked for. She had given Grace back to us.
I showed Mia the music box. Her eyes lit up.
"Mommy’s box!"
"Yes. It came back."
"Will it play music now?"
"I think it will."
I took it to a craftsman. He repaired the mechanism. And when I brought it home and opened it for Mia… it played.
Clear and sweet. The same melody Grace had loved. The one she had hummed to Mia every night.
Mia sat listening, her eyes wide. When the song ended she looked up at me.
May you like
"Mommy is still here, isn’t she?"
"Yes. She is always with us."
