The next morning, Elias didn't leave for the city as planned. Instead, he went to the shed and found his father's old, rusted gardening tools. The backyard was a jungle of weeds and overgrown briars, a reflection of their relationship—neglected and wild.
He spent the entire day digging. His hands blistered, and his back ached, but with every weed he pulled, he felt a bit of the heavy knot in his chest loosen. By evening, he had cleared a small patch of earth near the garden gate, the exact spot his father had mentioned in the letter.