Chapter 16 - THE LETTER One rainy afternoon, Sarah received a letter.
There was no return address.
She opened it carefully.
Inside was a single page.
Richard had written it himself.
He didn't ask for forgiveness.
He didn't blame Sarah.
He didn't mention his lawyers.
He simply wrote:
"I used to think strength meant making other people afraid of me. I was wrong."
Sarah read the rest silently.
Richard admitted that seeing Owen in the courtroom had forced him to confront what he had become.
At the bottom was one sentence:
"I don't expect you or your son to forgive me. I only hope that someday I can become someone who deserves forgiveness."
Sarah folded the letter.
Owen entered the room.
"Who wrote that?"
She hesitated.
"Richard."
Owen's face changed.
"Do you forgive him?"
Sarah sat beside him.
"I don't know."
Owen nodded.
"Me neither."
She smiled.
"You don't have to."
He thought about that.
Then he said:
"Maybe forgiveness is something people earn."
Sarah looked at him.
The boy who had once asked whether he was less than other children was beginning to understand something many adults never learned.
May you like
Forgiveness wasn't weakness.
And neither was refusing to give it before you were ready.
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