I Love You Back

Elta, 7, lives just off a narrow, winding road in Albany, Ohio, surrounded by greenery. Sunlight bleeds through tall grass as rolling Appalachian hills transition into soft forests surrounding her home. On a warm March day, the front door stays open as chickens roam in and out. The wind billows through chimes on the front porch, making music in the warm air. She spends her days running through the yard with her chickens, swinging on the porch, gardening with her mother and playing freely. 

“She would wake up 5 or 6 times during the night and just say, ‘Mom’ and I would have to say, ‘Elta.’ And she would say, ‘I love you’ and I would say, ‘I love you back.’” says her mother, Dee.