CHAPTER 7 – WHEN THE ICE MELTED
CHAPTER 7 – WHEN THE ICE MELTED
Winter slowly loosened its grip on the city.
The frozen lake behind the Whitaker estate began to thaw, and with it, something inside the people who lived there.
Every morning, Sophie insisted on practicing.
Not at a professional rink yet—just in thick socks on the polished hardwood floor, arms stretched wide while Ava counted softly.
"Posture."
"Breathe."
"Again."
When Sophie stumbled, she would immediately stand.
Ava always smiled.
"See?"
"What?"
"You already know the most important lesson."
Ethan watched them from the doorway before leaving for work.
His house, once silent except for the ticking of clocks, now echoed with laughter, music, and the occasional crash of a six-year-old discovering gravity.
He hadn't realized how lonely the silence had been until it disappeared.
But beneath the joy, another reality remained.
Ava tired more quickly.
The coughing became more frequent.
Some afternoons she slept for hours.
On the worst days, even walking to the garden required Ethan's steady arm.
He never commented.
He simply matched his pace to hers.
One evening, Ethan returned from a meeting carrying a thick folder.
Ava noticed immediately.
"You've been hiding something."
"I've been trying."
He sat beside her on the porch overlooking the lake.
"I contacted specialists across the country."
Ava closed her eyes.
"Ethan..."
"They all reviewed your records."
She already knew the answer before he spoke.
"The treatments available now aren't likely to change the course of the disease."
Silence settled between them.
He looked at the folder in his hands.
"I wanted to fix this."
Ava gently placed her hand over his.
"You've spent your whole life solving problems."
"I have."
"This isn't one of them."
For the first time since Claire's death, Ethan allowed himself to admit the truth.
"I hate feeling helpless."
"So do I."
Their fingers remained intertwined.
Not because either of them had found a solution.
But because neither wanted the other to face the moment alone.
That night, Sophie padded into Ava's room carrying a blanket.
"I had a bad dream."
Ava opened her arms.
Sophie climbed carefully onto the bed.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Are you going to heaven like Mommy?"
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know when."
"But someday..."
"...yes."
Sophie was quiet for a long moment.
Then she reached into her pajama pocket and pulled out the silver snowflake pin.
"You said falling isn't the end."
"I did."
"So..."
Sophie pinned the snowflake gently onto Ava's sweater.
"...don't forget to stand up if you can."
May you like
Ava hugged her tightly, crying into the little girl's hair.
Children, she realized, had a way of saying exactly what adults needed to hear.
