Elena gathered the returned letters.
“We don’t have to solve every part today.”
Daniel looked at her across the table.
“No. But we have to stop pretending the unanswered parts don’t matter.”
Something passed between them.
Not the affection they once had.
Not yet.
It was the recognition that both had spent years carrying a version of the same loss.
Silas closed his book.
“What happens now?”
Daniel sat beside him again.
“Your mother and I speak with the counselor.”
“And me?”
“You decide what questions you want answered.”
“Can I see her again?”
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Yes,” he said. “If that is what you want.”
Silas considered the woman across from him.
“Maybe at the library.”
Elena smiled through her tears.
“I would like that.”
“Not every day.”
“All right.”
“And don’t pick all my books.”
“I promise.”
“Maybe one.”
“One.”
Silas glanced at Daniel.
