Chapter 5 - The Royal Parade
Three months later, the town of Oakridge was alive with the vibrant colors of autumn. The leaves on the oak trees had turned to brilliant shades of gold, orange, and crimson, falling gently onto the clean asphalt of Main Street.
Today, the town was hosting its annual Fall Festival parade, but the theme of this year’s event had been officially changed by the town council to The Parade of Crowns.
The streets were lined with thousands of people, many of them having traveled from neighboring states to see the little girl who had captured the heart of the nation.
At the front of the parade, leading a procession of over two hundred motorcycles from various regional clubs, was Troy’s black Harley-Davidson.
The motorcycle had been decorated with pink and silver streamers that fluttered in the autumn wind. Troy rode with a straight back, wearing a beautifully tailored leather vest that had been dyed a deep, royal blue, with gold epaulets sewn onto the shoulders. On his head, he wore a massive, polished steel crown that had been custom-forged by a local metalworker.
Sitting on a custom-built, elevated leather seat behind him was Ava.
She wore a beautiful, flowing pink gown that cascaded over the rear fender of the bike, her head adorned with a glittering gold tiara that caught the bright afternoon sun. She waved her magic wand to the crowd, her face radiant with health, her golden curls now fully restored and bouncing in the wind.
As they rode slowly down Main Street, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of cheers and applause.
People waved cardboard signs bearing messages of love: WE BELIEVE IN PRINCESS AVA and THE KINGDOM OF OAKRIDGE SURVIVES. Near the center of town, Troy spotted the staff of the Oakridge Walmart standing on a custom-built float, all of them wearing their princess crowns and waving giant cardboard swords in the air.
Troy looked back at his daughter through his rearview mirror.
Ava was laughing—that bright, musical laugh that had once been his only light in the dark. She was looking at the crowd, her face filled with a pure, uncomplicated joy that had nothing to do with hospitals, chemotherapy, or fear.
She was just a little girl living in her fairy tale.
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Troy turned his eyes back to the road ahead, a deep, comfortable warmth settling behind his ribs. He knew that their journey wasn't entirely over—there would still be doctor visits, blood tests, and the lingering, quiet anxiety that every cancer survivor's family carries.
But as he looked at the thousands of people lining the streets, all of them wearing crowns of their own, he knew they would never have to ride alone again.
