At eighty-three, the auburn hair she once wore proudly had softened into silver, and gentle lines mapped decades of life across her face. Outside the window, familiar streets slipped by—streets she had known for nearly forty-seven years, all leading back to the same modest two-bedroom home that had held her entire adult life.
She glanced toward Lisa, her adopted daughter, who focused on the road ahead. Margaret had welcomed Lisa into her life when the girl was just seven years old—quiet, guarded, and carrying a sadness no child should know. Now, at forty-two, Lisa had grown into a calm, steady woman, strong in a way that reminded Margaret of the old oak tree behind the house—the one that had endured countless storms yet never fell.
“Are you warm enough, Mom?” Lisa asked, briefly shifting her eyes from the road.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” Margaret replied softly, though her heart felt anything but settled.
Her gaze drifted to the trunk of the car, where a single suitcase held what she had chosen from a lifetime of belongings: old photo albums, her wedding ring, a few beloved books, and a week’s worth of clothes. Everything else had already been sorted—some donated, some given away, the most meaningful pieces divided among family and friends.
She had known this day was coming.
Since her fall the previous winter, her health had declined steadily. The doctor’s voice still echoed in her thoughts: You really shouldn’t be living alone anymore, Margaret. When Lisa suggested a drive that morning, Margaret understood what it meant. The brochures for the San Pines retirement community had sat on her coffee table for weeks. Lisa had been gentle—but persistent.
They drove in silence as the scenery shifted. Margaret watched familiar landmarks pass by: the library where she’d volunteered for two decades, the park where she used to push Lisa on the swings.
“Do you remember how you always begged me to push you higher?” Margaret said, her voice wavering.
Lisa smiled. “You warned me not to go too high—and then pushed harder than ever. I screamed every time.”
