My heart pounded. Twenty years of resentment suddenly felt small beside the mystery in his eyes.
“Please,” he whispered. “Sit down. You deserve to know what your mother did for me… and why I can never repay her.”
I sat, trembling, as he began to speak.
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Gabriel took a trembling breath.
“Your mother didn’t just feed me,” he said. “She saved my life. When everyone else looked away, she treated me like I mattered. She helped me get back on my feet, and she never asked for anything in return.”
Then he handed me an envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Mom standing beside a young Gabriel, smiling as she held his hand. Beneath it was a letter in her familiar handwriting.
My darling,
I know you thought I loved Gabriel more than you. But I never stopped loving you. I saw a frightened, lonely boy who reminded me of what it felt like to lose everything. I couldn’t turn away.
