Emma turned back to Lily.
“This isn’t going to happen all at once,” she said. “You might not walk today. Maybe not tomorrow. But if you keep trying… every single day… your body will start to remember.”
Lily gripped the sides of her wheelchair, her small hands trembling.
“I’ll try,” she said, her voice stronger now.
Emma smiled.
“Okay. Let’s start.”
She held out her hands.
“One… two… three.”
Lily pushed.
At first, nothing.
Then—just barely—her body lifted a fraction of an inch before dropping back down.
She sucked in a breath, frustrated.
“Again,” Emma said calmly.
They tried again.
And again.
Each time, Lily lifted herself a little higher. Stayed up a little longer. Her arms shook. Sweat mixed with the water still clinging to her skin. Her breath came in short, determined bursts.
Ethan stayed on his knees the entire time, watching something he had stopped believing in.
By the time the sun began to dip behind the mountains, casting long shadows across the garden, Lily was standing.
Not for long.
Not perfectly.
But standing.
Her small body trembled as she held onto Emma’s hands, her legs unsteady but… alive.
“I’m doing it,” she whispered, her eyes wide with wonder. “Dad… I’m standing.”