Sometimes it simply became one more thing a family could face together.
The Woman Who Had Waited Eighteen Years
Over the following weeks, Elisabeth helped Emma locate Helena.
The process was slower than Emma expected.
An old address was no longer valid.
A telephone number had been disconnected.
And Emma began to wonder whether Helena had moved far away or perhaps passed away.
Eventually, however, Elisabeth found a possible contact through information Helena had previously left.
She appeared to be living in a neighboring district.
Emma wrote down the number.
For several days, she did nothing.
She carried the paper in her handbag.
Sometimes she took it out and stared at it.
She imagined introducing herself.
She imagined Helena denying everything.
She imagined an angry conversation that would leave her regretting the decision.
Other times, she imagined meeting someone who could answer questions she had carried for years.
But she reminded herself that there might be no satisfying answers.
