When I finished, tears filled her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying\u2026\u201d she began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words didn\u2019t break the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They settled into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She didn\u2019t pull her hand away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the woman in the locket,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A long silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tears slipping quietly into her hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to lose you again,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time, I meant it differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because now, losing her would be a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I wasn\u2019t choosing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day, Leo walked slowly beside me, leaning on a cane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We entered her room together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elena looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey,\u201d Leo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He glanced at me, then back at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess\u2026 I finally brought you home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then nodded softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she said. \u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as I stood there, watching them\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
my son, and the daughter I thought I\u2019d lost forever\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I realized something I hadn\u2019t felt in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nothing was missing anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I finished, tears filled her eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re saying\u2026\u201d she began. I nodded. \u201cI\u2019m your mother.\u201d The words didn\u2019t break the room. They settled into it. She didn\u2019t pull her hand away. \u201cYou\u2019re the woman in the locket,\u201d she said. \u201cYes.\u201d A long silence. Then she nodded. Tears slipping quietly into her hair. \u201cI don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n