Mother Caridad gathered the letters, medical appointment card, and consent papers into a neat stack.
“We should not decide what this means without speaking to Elena.”
Esperanza looked toward the corridor. Beyond the guest parlor, the quiet routines of the convent continued. A door closed. Someone carried a basket across the cloister. From the garden came Tomás’s laughter as Sister Lucía tried to convince him that pebbles did not need blankets.
“I agree,” Esperanza said.
Her voice was steady, though her fingers remained curled around the table’s edge.
Mother Caridad slipped the photograph into the folder.
“We will leave tomorrow morning.”
“So soon?”
“Would waiting make you calmer?”
“No.”
“Then there is little kindness in delay.”
Esperanza nodded.
“Doctor Paloma should come.”
“She will.”
“And Lucía will remain with the children?”
“I have already considered it.”
Esperanza let out a breath she had been holding.
