Georgia's POV
But life has such a cruel way of changing things.
I could still see the day my sister-in-law, Katie's mother, died. The house had been so still that day, so quiet it felt wrong. Katie was too young to understand why everyone was crying. I had held her in my arms as she reached out for her mom, saying "Mama" over and over, not knowing she would never answer again.
And then, as if that pain wasn't enough, my brother…
The day they found him dead on the shore, I thought my heart would break completely. Both of them were gone, and all that was left were Katie and me.
I used to worry so much about her. How she'd grow up. How she'd carry that kind of loss, that kind of silence, in her tiny heart. Every time she smiled, I'd feel this ache, like she deserved more than what life had given her.
And now, here she was, laughing, calling me "Mommy."
It wasn't pity anymore that I felt. It was something warmer, deeper, like a new beginning not just for her, but for me too.
