I stared at the envelope while Mom watched me quietly.

“You don’t have to read it now.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

Then I slid my finger beneath the flap.

“If I put it down now, I might become too afraid to pick it up again.”

Part 4: The Letter From My First Mother

Inside the envelope was a single folded page covered in handwriting that looked slightly rushed but remained easy to read. My hands trembled as I unfolded it, aware that I was about to hear the voice of a woman whose name I did not even know.

The letter began simply.

“My dearest Emma,

If you are reading this, then life did not turn out the way I hoped it would.”

I stopped for a moment before forcing myself to continue. She wrote that she had wanted to be the person who told me how deeply I had been loved from the beginning, but if the letter reached me instead of her voice, then she had somehow lost the chance to say those words herself.

“None of what happened was your fault. You were the greatest joy of my life.”

My vision blurred.