Chapter 16 - BECAUSE HE BELIEVED HER BODYHannah’s storage boxes contained one last recording.
Audio only.
Eli had never heard it.
Dante almost did not play it.
Then Eli asked.
Hannah’s voice filled the library.
Tired.
Warm.
“Eli, if you’re listening to this, you probably ignored at least three instructions.”
Eli smiled immediately.
Rosalie laughed.
Hannah continued.
“First, stop trying to fix everybody.”
Eli’s smile disappeared.
Dante looked at him.
“Second, you are not responsible for what happened at St. Catherine.”
Eli looked down.
“Third, if you ever find Rosalie, do not promise her anything.”
Rosalie stared.
Hannah’s voice softened.
“Remind her that bodies are allowed to surprise us.”
Eli’s eyes filled.
“And if she cannot stand, that does not mean she failed.”
Rosalie started crying quietly.
Dante looked away.
Hannah continued.
“If she does stand, do not make her do it again just because everyone gets excited.”
Dante almost laughed through the tightness in his chest.
“She knew you,” Rosalie whispered.
“Yes,” Dante said.
The recording continued.
“Rosalie is more than her legs. You are more than my unfinished work.”
Eli covered his face.
No one touched him immediately.
He needed space.
After a minute Rosalie rolled closer.
She held out her hand.
Eli took it.
Hannah’s final words:
“I love you. Go be ten.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
Dante left the room.
Not because he did not care.
Because Eli deserved grief without an audience.
Later Dante found him on the back steps.
“You heard the last part.”
Eli looked annoyed.
“What?”
“Go be ten.”
“I am ten.”
“You crossed counties alone carrying medical records.”
“So?”
“You argued with a neurologist.”
“He was annoying.”
“You slept in a bus station.”
“That wasn’t a job.”
Dante sat.
“You are carrying things adults should carry now.”
Eli stared.
“Who?”
“Me. Lawyers. Doctors. Your social worker.”
“My mom said not to trust powerful people.”
“Smart woman.”
Eli looked confused.
Dante continued.
“So don’t trust me because I’m powerful.”
“Then?”
“Watch what I do.”
Eli looked toward the courtyard where Rosalie was working with a therapist.
“She trusts you.”
“Sometimes.”
“She yells at you.”
“Often.”
“That means she trusts you.”
Dante smiled.
Maybe.
Eli said:
“I have one more secret.”
Dante waited.
“My mom wrote about you too.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“She said you’d offer me money.”
Dante almost laughed.
“What else?”
“She said I should say no the first time.”
Dante stared.
“Why?”
“To see if you listen.”
He laughed despite himself.
“That woman is haunting me strategically.”
Eli smiled.
“What were you going to offer?”
“School.”
“I need school.”
“Home.”
Eli looked away.
“Money.”
“No.”
Dante nodded.
“Good.”
Eli frowned.
“That’s it?”
“You said no.”
He stared.
Dante stood.
“Your move.”
Eli watched him walk away.
May you like
For the first time, a powerful adult had offered something and accepted refusal without punishment.
That mattered.
Related Stories
