Chapter 5: The Place Where We First Promised
That evening, Grace read the letter again after Noah fell asleep.
She sat beside his bed, the lamp glowing softly, and followed every curve of Aaron’s handwriting.
“It is hidden in the place where we first promised to always find each other.”
Grace knew exactly where that was.
Years earlier, before Noah was born, Aaron had taken her under the old oak tree in the backyard.
It was raining lightly that day. Grace had been annoyed because her shoes were muddy and her hair was ruined.
Aaron had laughed and said, “Perfect. Now you’ll remember it.”
Then he had knelt in the wet grass and asked her to marry him.
Grace had said yes before he even finished.
After Noah was born, Aaron carved three small lines into the underside of the wooden bench beneath the oak tree.
One line for Grace.
One for Aaron.
One for Noah.
“Our promise mark,” he said.
Grace wiped her eyes and stood.
She walked to the back window.
The oak tree stood in darkness, its branches moving gently in the night wind.
For the first time, it did not look like a tree.
It looked like a question.
The next morning, Grace waited until Noah woke up.
Then she showed him the rest of the letter.
“Dad wants us to find something,” she said.
Noah’s eyes widened.
“Like treasure?”
Grace gave a sad little smile.
“Maybe.”
Noah picked up the badge and held it against his chest.
“Then we have to go.”
Grace looked at the folded flag on the table.
May you like
Then at her son.
“Yes,” she whispered. “We do.”
