The feeling of accomplishment lasted exactly until Sarah found them again.
"Lillian Grace Thorne, what did I say about bothering people?" Sarah's voice carried down the dirt lane before she even came into view.
Lily groaned and hopped down from the window ledge. "I wasn't bothering her! We were waking up dragons!"
Sarah appeared, looking even more flustered than the day before. She carried a small, paper-wrapped parcel. She stopped at the window, her eyes darting from Elara's flushed face to the scattered sheet music on the piano.
"I am so incredibly sorry," Sarah sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. "I turned my back for two seconds to check on the laundry, and she vanished."
Elara quickly stood up and shook her head, waving her hands in a dismissing gesture. She picked up the pencil and wrote quickly on the edge of a blank page, holding it up for Sarah.
SHE HELPED ME.
Sarah blinked, reading the words. Her shoulders dropped, the tension leaving her body. "She did?"
Elara nodded emphatically.
"Well," Sarah said, a soft, genuine smile spreading across her face. "I'm glad she wasn't a total nuisance. Actually... I brought this as a peace offering." She held out the paper parcel through the window.
Elara took it carefully. It was warm and smelled of cinnamon and baked apples.
"It's from the bakery in town," Sarah explained. "And, look, I know you came out here to be alone. But if you ever feel like stepping out of the cottage, the bakery has the best coffee in the county. Lily and I are usually there on Saturday mornings."
It was a simple, casual invitation. No pressure, no pity. Just an offer of normalcy.
Elara looked down at the warm pastry in her hands. For six months, the thought of sitting in a public place, surrounded by people who could speak when she couldn't, had been her worst nightmare. She had built a fortress of silence around herself.
But looking at the piano, and then at the messy sheet music she had just filled, she realized something. The fortress wasn't protecting her anymore; it was just keeping her trapped.
Slowly, Elara looked up at Sarah. She didn't write anything down. She simply nodded once, firmly.
Sarah's smile widened. "Great. Maybe we'll see you there." She took Lily's hand. "Come on, dragon tamer. Let's go home."
As Elara watched them walk away, she took a bite of the cinnamon pastry. It was sweet, warm, and comforting. She turned back to the piano. She had the beginning, and she had the storm. Now, she just had to figure out how the song was going to end.