ADVERTISEMENT
I felt sick!
She explained they’d been pushing her to marry someone named Thomas, a family friend. They said he was stable and reliable — the kind of guy her father always liked.
Then came the sentence that burned itself into my memory:
“If you don’t answer this, I’ll assume you chose the life you wanted — and I’ll stop waiting.”
Her return address was at the bottom.
For a long time, I just sat there. It felt like I was in my 20s again, heart in pieces, except this time I had the truth in my hands.
I climbed back downstairs and sat on the edge of the bed. I pulled out my laptop and opened a browser.
Then, I typed her name into the search bar.
I didn’t expect to find anything.
It had been decades. People change names, move away, delete their online footprints. But still, I searched.
“Oh my God,” I said out loud, barely believing what I was seeing.
Her name led me to a Facebook profile, only now she had a different last name.
My hands hovered over the keyboard. The profile was mostly private, but there was a photo — her profile picture — and when I clicked on it, my heart jumped!
Sue was smiling, standing on a mountain trail, while a man about my age stood next to her. Her hair was streaked with gray now, but it was still her.
Her eyes hadn’t changed. She still had the soft tilt of her head and the easy, gentle smile.
I looked closer because her account was private.
Continue reading…
ADVERTISEMENT