“It’s us,” Elo whispered when they were done.
“It’s every kid who needs hope,” Sky said.
Slowly, kids started to come. A ten-year-old boy whose coach hurt him and told him it was “training.” An eleven-year-old girl whose aunt called cruelty “discipline.” A little boy whose teacher called him stupid in front of the class until he stopped speaking at all.
Sometimes Elo talked in the support groups. Sometimes she just listened.
“My name is Eloin,” she told a circle of children one evening. “Someone I trusted hurt me for a long time. But my friend saw me. My dad believed me. And now I’m safe.”
After the group, a boy came up to her.
“Thank you for saying that,” he said. “It helps knowing someone else gets it.”
“You’re not alone,” Elo said. “None of us are.”
In time, Elo went back to school. The first day, her stomach twisted so hard she thought she might throw up. Her hair was short now, new growth soft and uneven. She could feel kids’ eyes on her as she walked into the classroom.
A boy pointed.
“Why is your hair like that?” he asked.
“I had to cut it,” Elo said. “It’s growing back.”
“Why?”
“Medical reasons,” she said.
The teacher clapped her hands.
“All right, everyone,” she said. “Let’s give Elo some space. We’re glad you’re back, honey.”
Elo sat down at her desk, heart pounding, but the world didn’t end. At lunch, a girl from her class walked up.
“Can I sit here?” the girl asked.
Elo nodded.
“I like your hair,” the girl said. “Short hair is cool.”
“Thanks,” Elo said.
More kids joined them. Nobody asked mean questions. They talked about teachers and homework and games at recess. Elo realized something quietly shocking.
Here, she was just another kid.
Not an experiment. Not a victim.
Just Elo.
Months passed. The foundation helped more children. At eight, Elo asked her father a question.
“Do you think I could help more if I wrote my story down?” she asked.
“You mean a book?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “So kids who can’t come here can still read it and know they’re not alone.”
“That’s a big project,” he said.
“I know,” she replied. “But I want to do it.”
Sky agreed to help immediately.
“I’ll be your first reader,” she said.