Page 86 of To the Moon and Back

And the family she had waiting for her in heaven.

“Okay . . .” Uncle Landon walked up and handed her the sapling. “Are you ready?”

Amy nodded and grinned at her uncle. “I can’t wait.”

Cole came up and put his arm around her as she carried the little tree to the hole her Uncle Landon had dug. “You’re amazing, Amy. If I haven’t said that enough.”

“Thanks, Cole.” She smiled at him. He was always kind, always looking out for her. Today was no different.

As they reached the spot, Cole dropped back. “This is all you, Amy.”

She nodded. Then with all her family gathered around, she stepped up to the hole and set the baby elm inside. Uncle Landon had already uncovered the roots, so it was ready to be planted.

Amy knelt down in the dirt and positioned the tree so it was straight. She looked over her shoulder at her papa and Uncle Landon. “Is that good?”

“Perfect!” they both answered at the same time. Aunt Ashley and the others gave her a thumbs-up and nodded. “Perfect,” they all agreed.

And so it was. Amy took handfuls of the dirt piled near the hole and pressed them around the roots so the tree wouldn’t fall over. When it was steady, she stood and took the shovel from her Uncle Landon.

This part was a surprise. She scooped one shovelful of dirt and sprinkled it on the roots. Then she looked at her Aunt Ashley. “Your turn.”

“Me?” Her aunt looked surprised. “Honey, this is your tree. You can do it.”

Amy had been waiting for this day for months. She looked around at her family. “What happened to my mommy and daddy, what happened to my sisters when they went home to heaven that day . . . it happened to all of us.” She didn’t want to cry, but tears came anyway. She blinked a few times. “We’re all survivors.”

Everyone had tears now, even Cole.

Her throat was tight. For a few seconds she couldn’t talk, but then she did a little cough and her words came. “Please . . . I’d like everyone to pass the shovel and put some dirt in the hole. So we all plant this tree together.” Her tears made it hard to see, but she smiled anyway. “Okay?”

Everyone nodded and moved in closer. Aunt Ashley went first and then Uncle Landon, her papa and Grandma Elaine, Amy’s aunts and uncles and all her cousins. Cole was last, and when he was done he handed the shovel back to her. “You finish, Amy.”

She smiled and put the last few shovelfuls around the tree. Then she and Cole got on the ground and patted the dirt in, nice and tight. When they stepped back, Amy could see the elm clearly. Not just how it looked today, a baby tree in brand-new dirt. But how it would look a year from now. Twenty years from now.

Their very own survivor tree.

Her papa looked around. “Let’s pray.”

Amy wiped her eyes. “Yes.” Praying was just what they needed to do. She held out her hands. Cole took hold of one, and Aunt Ashley the other. Then everyone else added in and they made a circle around the sapling.

“Father, it’s like Amy said.” Papa’s voice was tender. “We are all survivors because of You. We have lost much, but through Your strength we have also loved much. Please, Lord, let this baby elm tree be a reminder to us that You are for us, not against us. You are the Healer of our broken hearts. And one day You will bring us home with those who’ve gone before us. Thank You for Amy. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Amy’s family started talking all at once, about how pretty the tree was and how well they’d planted it. Everyone came up and hugged Amy, and they hugged each other. Their voices and smiles and faces filled Amy’s soul and her tears stopped.

What they’d done today would stay in Amy’s heart forever. Her idea had worked. That all of them would take turns planting the tree. The Baxters were always stronger this way. Together. They were Amy’s family, her favorite people on earth. Survivors, all of them.

And now they had the little tree to prove it.