It took nearly a year to pay back the last of it.

The final envelope was not large.

After all those months of exhaustion, hunger, and humiliation, I expected the moment to feel triumphant.

It did not.

I handed the money to Marlene at a coffee shop near the courthouse.

She counted it quietly, then placed it in her purse.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

Finally, she looked at me and said, “She prayed for you.”

I almost wished she had slapped me instead.

Marlene’s voice hardened.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know if I ever will. But she did.”

I nodded because there was nothing useful to say.

No apology would return what I had taken.

No explanation would make greed look like pain.

Before she left, Marlene paused at the door.

“Don’t waste what she gave you,” she said.

Then she walked away, leaving me with an empty table and a sentence I could not escape.

Chapter 10: The Grave… Continue Reading ⬇️