Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2676

An hour later, Sylvia passed through the historic town. This time, she didn’t stop, driving straight through and continuing on toward J City.

It was afternoon by the time she arrived. Instead of going home, she drove to Grandma Winters’s house.

She parked outside and walked down the quiet lane. In the distance, she could see the wisteria in the courtyard in full, glorious bloom, filling the air with its sweet fragrance.

The vines were perfectly pruned, the flowers blooming right on schedule, but their owner was gone.

Sylvia gently pushed open the wooden gate. As she stepped over the threshold, a wave of sorrow washed over her, remembering her last visit, sitting and chatting with the old woman.

Nothing in the courtyard had changed. Crabapple blossoms littered the ground, and the very shawl Sylvia had bought for her was still hanging on the clothesline.

Eugene was sitting in the courtyard, in the same wicker chair Grandma Winters always used. His head was bowed, his back slumped, as if he were carrying an unbearable weight of grief.

He looked up at the sound of her footsteps. His face was gaunt, his eyes red-rimmed. “Sylvia,” he said, his voice raw.

Sylvia walked over and knelt in front of him. “I’m back.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Eugene’s eyes grew redder. He choked back a sob. “Grandma’s gone. The person who loved me most in this world is gone forever.”

Sylvia felt a deep empathy for his pain. “She hasn’t left you, Eugene,” she said softly. “She’s just found a different way to watch over you. The wind that blows past you, the rain that falls from the sky… that could be her, coming back to see you.”

He took her hands, pressing them to his forehead almost reverently.

“Sylvia, you’re all I have left.”

“I’ll help you,” she said gently.

Dora was efficient, and the ingredients were ready. She soon brought out two steaming bowls of noodles. “Sir, Ms. Jarvis, please eat. I can make more if you’re still hungry.”

“Thank you.”

Sylvia and Eugene sat across from each other and began to eat. The noodles tasted the same as always, but without the old woman there, the meal was tinged with a deep sadness.

“Will Dora be leaving?” Sylvia asked.

“Dora left her abusive husband twenty years ago and cut ties with everyone from her old life. She has no other family,” Eugene explained. “Now that Grandma’s gone, she’s family to me. I’m planning to give her this house so she can stay here. That way, I’ll always have a place to come back to.”

Sylvia smiled faintly. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

Dora, who had come back with a side dish of pickles, overheard him and her eyes immediately filled with tears. “Thank you, sir. Thank you so much,” she choked out.