Ayena Taft | District 11 | CBD #1 | Done

Her memory stretches from before to after.

Enduring war, strife, change, love, life and now - a twilight with children looking for truth.

What did she ever ask for but a life long lived so that she could plant a new beginning for tomorrow.

The old Taft home had been called Iris Gate for the flowers that grew across the wrought iron. Once imposing to those who needed to cross the threshold, but after her father's passing, changed all for the better. What a wonder two hands could bring. Two hearts, too. Hers and Xuxa Izar's fixing up a crumbling brick mansion to a space all could be welcome. One where there was free exchange of ideas, of eyes looking out toward a better future.

She held the Izar boys in her lap. She knew the whole district's history. How to draw up the fields, and how to live well. And now she was left with another new beginning, after so many years of being alone.

Vasco said there was to be a college and so long as she was alive, that she was to run it. No one else had the space, nor the strength to carry such a burden. And what else was she doing then, her life all quiet sunsets and empty drawing rooms with furniture covered in white sheets. She'd rather have teenagers running up and down the stairs again than to wind up like her furniture, under darkness and forgotten.

And so she starts again. With the patience to hope, and strength to hold on. At least for a little while longer.