Mother Elf's Arc

Chapter 5 of 11

The next morning, Mother Elf sat at her kitchen table with a cup of tea and looked at the list of cottages. Four remained empty. She needed to choose carefully, because each cottage represented a promise she intended to keep. As she stared at the blank space beside Cottage #4, she heard laughter outside her window. She stood and looked out. Dianne Troll was walking past with her three children. The twins were pulling in opposite directions while the toddler clung to her leg. Dianne's face showed the kind of tired that sleep couldn't fix. She was trying to smile at something one of the twins said, but her shoulders sagged under invisible weight. Mother Elf knew Dianne managed everything while her husband toured with his band. She kept the household running, the children fed and safe, the schedules straight. She did it alone most weeks, and no one seemed to notice. Mother Elf walked to the fourth cottage and opened the door. The saltwater pool inside gleamed in the sunlight, its gentle ripples catching the light. She placed a leather planner on the small table beside it, its pages blank and waiting. This was for the life Dianne held together while everyone else was somewhere else. Outside, Daddy Elf was finishing the playground with its bright slides and tunnels. The children would have somewhere to play while their mother rested. Mother Elf began weaving the flower crown, her hands moving steadily. She had found the right mother for this cottage, and she would not doubt her choice. When she finished, she held the crown up and looked at it. Dianne might say she didn't need rest, that she was fine, that other mothers had it harder. But Mother Elf would not ask permission. She walked outside and stood by the playground, watching the swings move in the breeze. Tonight she would write the invitation, and Dianne would come, and Mother Elf would tell her what she needed to hear: that keeping everything together was enough, and that she deserved to put it down for a while.