At first, those scenes hurt me.
I was thinking about Mateo and Clara.
In their laughter in the garden.
In the way Mateo would ask me to tell him stories before going to sleep.
But over time I understood something.
The love she felt for them had not disappeared.
It was just stored in a place where no one could use it against me.
One day, almost two months after my arrival, I received an unexpected call.
The number was unknown.
For several seconds I hesitated to answer.
I finally did it.
-Hello?
There was silence on the other side.
Then a voice that I would recognize even after a hundred years.
-Mother…
It was Lily.
I felt something moving inside my chest.
No pain.
Not quite.
More like an old door that was slowly opening.
—Hello, Lily—I said calmly.
For a few seconds neither of them spoke.
Then I heard his breathing tremble.
“I’ve been trying to find you,” he said.
-I know.
—Emma gave me this number.
I looked at the sea as I spoke.
