She left me more than a house.
She left me proof of my own worth.
The people who tried to make me small no longer get to decide what I deserve.
Hawthorne Avenue is still mine. The children in the library are laughing. The stained glass still catches the afternoon sun.
And when I remember Grandma’s final whisper, I no longer hear it as a warning.
I hear it as faith.
She was right.