Page 173 of Everything She Feared

More important, they were survivors.

Katie’s fingers traced the smooth surface of the hand-carved giraffe in Dr. Mehta’s office.

Holding it gave her comfort.

In the time after the attack, it was Katie who had insisted on resuming her visits with Dr. Mehta. During their sessions, Dr. Mehta worked on treating the psychological injuries Katie bore from Magda’s rampage. And unlike their previous visits, Katie opened up this time.

“So, apart from the tragic night, are you still having bad thoughts like you had with Anna?”

“No, they’re gone.”

“Tell me how you know they’re gone?”

“It’s kinda hard to explain, but I think now I know that my mom and I are good people and if even a tiny bad thought comes into my brain, I’ll fight it and kick it away.”

Dr. Mehta saw this as Katie establishing a protective coping mechanism, reinforcing that the moral compass Katie had inherited from her mother eclipsed any of her grandmother’s violent traits. The tragedy had strengthened it, and Katie’s recognition of it was a positive step.

“That’s good, Katie.”

“Mom said that Bella was like a long-lost relative or something, and people were saying things about us, but she’s going to tell me more.”

“That’s true. I talked to her, too, and she will tell you more very soon.”

Katie nodded, stroking the giraffe. “I like this giraffe so much.”

“You know,” Dr. Mehta said, “giraffes represent many things to many people.”

“Like what?”

“Grace, beauty, and being able to rise above all trouble and see hope in the distance.”

Upon her release from the hospital, Sara began seeing Dr. Oleva Krensic, a psychiatrist who treated her for her mental and emotional trauma.

Sara was still sore from her physical wounds, but she was slowly recovering on all fronts.

Dr. Krensic helped Sara understand how her heroic action not only saved Katie but reinforced Katie’s own sense of morality by protecting her from the threat of evil in every sense of the word.

Still, it was difficult for Sara to grasp that she had been forced into a death battle with Magda, her biological mother. Sara continued to carry shame and guilt for the possibility of passing on Magda’s genes to Katie, and agonized over having to tell Katie about her family’s dark history.

“This is a natural feeling,” Krensic said. “But it’s unwarranted. You bear no responsibility for Magda. The guilt you feel is the pain of having a human heart,” Krensic said.

“These feelings are inevitable. It may help you to frame it this way—you helped Katie break away from any biological hold or control from Magda. Magda’s death is your victory over evil, a cleansing, a purging, a chance for you, Katie and your mother to start anew.”

And so much had happened after the attack.

Marjorie faced a range of physical and psychological issues on her long road to recovery. But it helped that she was able to move back into her North Seattle home with Sara and Katie.

A lawsuit against the Silverbrook Hills Senior Living Home, for its failure to check Bella Spencer’s background, and lax security, was settled out of court with a large payment. It enabled Marjorie to employ all the professional care she required at home, and provided for renovations to accommodate her needs.

In the early days Mel and everyone at the diner raised donations for Sara’s family through crowdfunding efforts. But Sara quickly arranged to distribute nearly all of the money to the families of Magda’s victims, including Anna Shaw’s family.

Sara and Katie visited Lynora and Chuck Shaw to personally tell them of the funding they’d receive.

The Shaws used the funding to establish a memorial scholarship in Anna’s name.

In the days after the attack, while Sara recovered in the hospital, Ryan Gardner got word to her. After learning who he was, and the role he played that night comforting Katie until help arrived, Sara allowed him to visit, and he told her his story.

When Ryan finished, he said: “So, we’re connected to all of this, Sara.”

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