“This is going to sound crazy, but I’m almost certain we’re related. My mother came from… well, a troubled family. To be honest, there wasn’t much of a family at all. My—or I guess, our—grandmother, for some reason, started drinking heavily. My mom said everything was fine, and then something happened at work, or maybe she found out my grandfather was cheating on her. Whatever it was, she just snapped. She got divorced, was asked to resign from her job. She made a living sewing from home, and she was beautiful, so she never lacked for male company. My mom was the oldest child, from her first marriage, and she said their house was often chaotic. Our grandmother slowly lost all sense of decency. She would periodically have children with her various boyfriends. The girls, she would usually leave at the hospital or later give them up to the orphanage. The boys, she often kept, thinking they were more useful, or hoping to guilt their fathers with an heir. But none of the biological fathers were eager to take responsibility for the ever-growing brood. My mom said most of the childcare fell on her. She didn’t go into too much detail; it was too painful to relive her impoverished, semi-starved childhood. At sixteen, she wanted to run away, but by then she had three younger brothers to look after. This nightmare continued until my mom turned eighteen. Then our grandmother froze to death on her way home from another bender. I have no idea how my mother survived that and didn’t break. She worked two jobs, managed to trade up their apartment so the boys would have what they needed. They’re all respected men now. You’d never guess they had a childhood like that.”
Tessa had almost no doubt that Anna was her cousin. There were too many coincidences in their appearances and the details of their stories. It all pointed to the fact that her mother had been one of the girls their shared grandmother hadn’t wanted to raise. It meant she might finally have found blood relatives. And for the first time in an emotionally draining twenty-four hours, Tessa felt a surge of joy.
“This is incredible news. I’ve always wished I had a big family.”
But from Anna’s subdued expression, Tessa knew the most difficult part of the family history was yet to come. Her newly found cousin continued, “Unfortunately, her hard childhood made my mother incredibly strict with me. She never hit me, but I would shrink in terror at the sound of her threatening whisper. I was used to obeying. So she was completely blindsided when I fell in love and decided to defy her. Tony, a classmate of mine, had me so completely charmed that I ended up pregnant. You should have heard my mother scream when she found out. It was awful. I couldn’t take it, so I ran away. Tony quickly denied he had anything to do with it. So I turned my back on the world and moved to another city with almost no money. My guardian angel must have a full head of gray hair by now. But somehow, things worked out. I met a man, Arkady. He was fine with me living with him, and he supported me. He knew I was pregnant with another man’s child, but he didn’t care. For a while, things were okay. My child and I had a roof over our heads. My job was to keep house, educate myself, and support Arkady in every way. He was generous with money. But the older Sophie got, the more I saw how he was breaking her spirit. My partner turned out to be a tyrant, even worse than my mother. Then, two months ago, I ran into Tony on the street. My first love, my daughter’s father, the traitor. But suddenly, I saw him as our only way out. I begged him to take us somewhere, anywhere, while Arkady was on one of his overseas trips. Tony said he’d think about it. Then yesterday, he showed up out of the blue and said he was taking us to his childhood country home. And that’s how we ended up here.”
Tessa and Anna talked almost until dawn, sharing their life stories. It turned out they liked the same books. They were both interested in architecture and design. The coincidences were too numerous to ignore; they no longer doubted their kinship. They didn’t sleep much, but they didn’t care.
The next morning, after breakfast, Anna went to the hospital to see her daughter. Tessa hurried to the store, and then to the cemetery to pay her respects to her grandfather and thank him for calling her home in her dream, for opening her eyes to Tony’s true nature. She tidied up the family graves and even managed to touch up the paint on the window trim before Anna returned from town.
“Hey, Tessa. Sophie sends her love. She’s already feeling better. The doctor on duty said she’ll definitely be discharged next week.”
Tessa was genuinely happy. She had been truly worried about the little girl. Over lunch, she said to Anna, “You know, don’t say no right away, but I think it’s time for you to make peace with your mother. I know it’s not my business, but you know she was only strict with you because of what she went through. You have no idea what I would give to hug my mother again. And you’ve willingly given that up just because she wasn’t thrilled about your pregnancy. Besides, I’m dying to meet my aunt.”
Anna smiled. “You know, I was just about to suggest the same thing. As soon as Sophie is better, we’ll all go see Mom together. I can only imagine how surprised she’ll be.”
Tessa had to return to the city, but they agreed to call each other every day. “You stay here, in the house,” Tessa insisted. “It’s close to the hospital, and there’s plenty of food. I’ll see you soon.”
The following weekend, Anna, her daughter, and Tessa were sitting in the living room of a stately woman who, upon their arrival, had first rushed to embrace her long-lost daughter. When the tears had been wiped away, it was Tessa’s turn. “Aunt Elena, you don’t know me, but I’m your niece. Anna and I already got the DNA test results back. There’s no doubt. We’re cousins.”
The woman looked with emotion at the relative she never knew she had. Tessa told her story, and her aunt was moved. “I sometimes dreamed of the little girls who were with us for a short time and then disappeared. But all my attempts to find any of them were unsuccessful.”
The women drank tea, believing that a new, happy chapter was beginning in their lives. Tony tried to win Tessa back but was rejected. Anna, who had moved in with her mother, also turned him down. The cousins saw each other often, and on New Year’s Eve, while strolling through the town’s festive square, they met two wonderful men. Aunt Elena approved of the suitors for her beloved daughter and niece, and that summer, there was a joyous double wedding. Tessa, who had always braced for the other shoe to drop, was finally wrong in her gloomy predictions. From the day she met Anna and Elena, joy in her life was no longer followed by misfortune.
Comments are closed.