I stopped reading.
What had she hidden?
The final lines were even stranger.
“I told myself I was protecting everyone. I know now that all I protected was the silence.”
When I returned to the living room, the atmosphere had completely changed.
People stood in corners holding their letters.
Some were crying.
Others whispered.
A few refused to look at one another.
Across the room, my mother stood near the window.
People who had ignored her the day before were suddenly staring at her.
Mom wasn’t looking at them.
She was watching me.
Before I could reach her, Uncle Robert stepped between us.
His hand closed gently around my elbow.
“What was in your letter?”
“Nothing I completely understand.”
His eyes moved toward my purse.
Then he asked quietly:
“What’s in the twelfth one?”
My skin prickled.
“How do you know there’s a twelfth letter?”
Robert released my arm.
“I saw you come back with more than one.”
