She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 354

The sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky steadily darkened.

Hulda finally realized it was getting late.

She had gotten so caught up in teaching Katherine how to write that she'd completely lost track of time.

The fading light made it almost impossible to see the letters scratched into the dirt.

"Katherine, it's getting really late today. How about we practice spelling again next time?" Hulda asked gently, setting down her twig.

The little girl was clearly still riding the high of learning. The moment Hulda suggested stopping, the bright light in her eyes visibly dimmed.

Hulda hated the idea of dampening the child's enthusiasm for learning, but it really was too late. They were halfway up the mountain, and the trek down would take some time.

At the end of the day, Katherine was still just a little kid. If she got home too late, Mrs. Gable would definitely worry.

"Katherine, I promise we'll keep practicing tomorrow, okay?"

Katherine glanced up at the darkening sky and finally nodded. But before getting up, she grabbed Hulda's hand. "Just... just one last word!"

The little girl looked desperate, refusing to let go of Hulda's fingers.

Hulda smiled softly. "Alright, one last word."

She picked the twig back up. "What do you want to learn?"

Without a second of hesitation, the little girl blurted out, "Mom!"

Hulda's grip on the twig tightened drastically, and for some inexplicable reason, her heart squeezed right along with it.

She didn't know why, but hearing Katherine say the word 'Mom' felt like it had been seared directly into her chest, making her pulse hitch for a split second.

The little girl looked up at Hulda expectantly. "Mom."

Hulda stared at her. She knew perfectly well the child wasn't calling *her* mom, yet she couldn't stop the emotional avalanche entirely overriding her senses.

When Hulda didn't move, Katherine tilted her head and pointed her tiny finger at the ground. "Write."

"Oh... right... okay," Hulda snapped out of her daze and used the twig to carefully spell out the word 'Mom' in the dirt.

Katherine watched with absolute focus, her small hand mirroring Hulda's strokes, tracing the letters one by one.

Soon enough, she had spelled out the word entirely on her own.

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