Epilogue

EPILOGUE

As I am writing this, my eye sometimes drifts to the ruby engagement ring on my left hand. It makes me smile, this storied little thing. It isn’t the most impressive gem in the world, but the history behind it is priceless. Everytime I see it, it reminds me of my husband-to-be, the kind man who just brought me a hot chocolate towered high with whipped cream. The one who encouraged me to take my writing more seriously, who looked at my broken self and saw something beautiful.

Now here I sit, gazing out our window overlooking the Cowee Valley, the swirling mists kissing the pine peaks reminding me that this life is full of magic and wonder. Sunrise looms over the ridge, capping the mountaintops with gold, its rays cutting glowing lines through the foggy sky, heralding the promise of a new day. Mourning doves call out their soft songs to the waking world. My soul sings in time with the babbling creek below.

I feel alive here. Whole. Content. This was a life I hadn’t imagined for myself, but now that I’m here I wouldn’t change a thing.

Spence keeps pestering me to come eat. I told him I wasn’t done writing yet, but looking at it now, I feel happy with this chapter of our story I’ve written here. (I hope you are too!) Maybe someday I’ll try writing the rest, if anyone would want to read it that is. Spencer says I should, but he says a lot of things.

One of them was ‘Will you marry me?’, so I guess sometimes he has a point.

Who would have thought that I would have found more than one kind of gem in these hills?