Chapter 20 - The Final Chapter

The sun broke fully over the mountain ridge, casting long, golden beams across the clearing and warming the rough wood of the porch.
I set the phone down, picked up my coffee mug, and walked down the steps into the cool morning air. Ahead of me, an old dirt road stretched out toward the horizon, winding through the trees and disappearing into the bright, unwritten expanse of a world I was finally seeing with my own eyes.
For the first time in my life, I didn't look back. I just took a breath, stepped forward, and started walking.