“Come in,” Anna said again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stepped through the doorway, still trying to understand what she meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carol had always been the person I trusted most in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For thirty-six years, I had believed I knew everything important about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, standing in the home of the woman I had once planned to marry, I suddenly wondered how much of my life had been built on a story I had never been told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna led me into a small living room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were photographs everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Children. Grandchildren. Holidays. Weddings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lifetime of memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed toward an armchair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Sit down,” she said gently. “This is going to be difficult.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna remained standing for a moment, staring at the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“About thirty-eight years ago, I came looking for you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because I regretted letting you go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn’t know what to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“After you moved away, I tried to convince myself that we’d made the right decision. You had a new job. You were starting over. I thought maybe our relationship had simply run its course.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But after a few months, I realized I had made a terrible mistake.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why didn’t you contact me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I did.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those three words hit me harder than I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I wrote you a letter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I never received a letter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She walked over to a cabinet and opened a drawer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From inside, she pulled out a small, yellowed envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She placed it on the table between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name was written on the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My old name and my old address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I recognized the handwriting immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hands started trembling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You wrote this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I picked up the envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why didn’t I ever get it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna took a long breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because I gave it to Carol.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna sat across from me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I didn’t know she was going to be your wife then. I only knew that she was your friend.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remembered that period of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carol and I had known each other casually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had been kind to me after Anna and I separated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least, that was how I remembered it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I had found out where you were living. I didn’t know whether you wanted to hear from me, so I contacted Carol first.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What did she say?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She told me you were happy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Happy?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She told me you had met someone else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That’s not true.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know that now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked down at the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But I didn’t know it then.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Anna said something that made my stomach drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Carol also told me that you had asked her never to contact me again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I never said that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because years later, I found out.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna’s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because Carol came back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I felt a chill run through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“About a year after your wedding.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stood up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You saw her?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What did she want?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna looked directly into my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She wanted me to stay away from you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I couldn’t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna’s eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because she was afraid you’d leave her if you ever found out that I had tried to come back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sat down again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My entire body felt weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For thirty-six years, I had believed that Anna had rejected me because she didn’t want to follow me to another state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had spent decades thinking that our relationship ended because we simply chose different lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now I was learning that there had been another version of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One I had never heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because by then you were married.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That didn’t give you the right to disappear.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But I believed Carol when she told me you loved her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I did love her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And I still loved her when she died.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know that too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was when I realized something important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna wasn’t angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wasn’t trying to win me back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wasn’t trying to destroy Carol’s memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked like someone who had spent decades carrying a secret she never wanted to carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then why now?” I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why did Carol tell you to find me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she reached into another drawer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time, she pulled out a small box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She placed it carefully on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is why.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inside was a photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was old and faded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I picked it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It showed Anna and me standing together outside our college dormitory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were both young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment, I felt like I had been transported back forty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I noticed something underneath the photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A second envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name was written on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this handwriting wasn’t Anna’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Carol’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hands began to shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She gave you this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She mailed it to me about six months ago.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Six months?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why didn’t you tell me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because the letter said I shouldn’t.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What did it say?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna looked toward the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Carol wrote that she was sick.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She knew?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She had already received the diagnosis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked down at the envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She knew she was dying six months ago?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Apparently.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn’t know whether to cry or be angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why would she hide that from me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I don’t know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I opened the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were only a few pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carol’s handwriting looked weaker than I remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first sentence made my heart stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Anna, if you’re reading this, then I have finally run out of time.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I kept reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I know what I did was wrong.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “I know I took something from both of you that I had no right to take.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My vision blurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wiped my eyes and continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I reached the sentence that changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But there is one thing I need you to know. I didn’t keep you apart because I wanted to steal your husband.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anna was crying now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I continued reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I kept you apart because I was terrified of losing him.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The room became completely silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I reached the final paragraph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There is something else he deserves to know. Something I could never tell him while I was alive.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My hands were trembling so badly that I could barely hold the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What is it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, she whispered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Keep reading.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the final sentence made my knees nearly give out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The reason I need you to find Anna isn’t because I want you to forgive me. It’s because Anna is the only person who can tell you the truth about the daughter I gave away.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared at the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A daughter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was already crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What daughter?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anna covered her face with both hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then she looked at me and whispered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your daughter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “My… daughter?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anna nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I shook my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No. Carol and I never had a daughter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anna’s voice broke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s what you were told.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stood there, unable to breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then Anna said the words I would remember for the rest of my life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your wife didn’t lose a baby, like she told you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “She gave birth to a little girl.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My knees finally gave out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I collapsed into the chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For thirty-six years, I had believed that there had been nothing I could have done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I was beginning to understand why Carol’s final wish had been so desperate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She hadn’t sent me to Anna to reopen an old romance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had sent me there because somewhere in the world was a daughter I had never known existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Anna knew where she was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Come in,” Anna said again. I stepped through the doorway, still trying to understand what she meant. Carol had always…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22595,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22593\/revisions\/22595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menufiyat.net\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}