None of that erased what happened.
For months, Rachel could not sit inside a parked car with the windows closed.
The sound of automatic locks made her hands shake.
She checked Lily’s breathing so often at night that she barely slept.
Healing did not arrive as a single triumphant moment.
It came in smaller ones.
The first time Rachel drove alone again.
The first afternoon Lily slept in her car seat without Rachel pulling over to check her temperature.
