Emma—my granddaughter.
I have a daughter.
My whole life, I have wanted a family.
I didn't know I had one.
"Just two hours ago, I informed you are a father. Most people don't say they are fine after receiving such earth-shattering news."
I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking a million little thoughts. "I feel guilty," I tell Amelia.
"I figured you might need a little time to digest the news," Amelia says.
"You fell asleep on purpose?" I question.
Amelia grins. "Charlie, we can't fix the past, and I know for a fact that there is no time for guilt."
Amelia is as strong today as she was all those years ago. "I should have been there for them. I'm so sorry, Amelia." Tears break through the corners of my eyes.
"Charlie," Amelia hushes me with a smile. "It was out of our control."
My chest is heavy with pain. "Life could have been different."
"Yes," Amelia says. "Sure. But Charlie, let me explain something to you." She pats the guest chair next to her bedside. "Sit." I do as Amelia asks, except I fall into the chair rather heavily—the pain weakening my body. "This is hard for me to say, but for years after I last saw you, I went through some tough times. I was—traumatized, Charlie. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat normal portions of food. I could hardly focus on where my attention was needed. My thoughts were full of nightmares, but there was one thing that always saved me from those thoughts eating me alive."
I can hardly stand to look her in the eyes, hearing these words, but I take her frail hand in mine and enclose it with the warmth I can offer. "What was that?"
Amelia sniffles and her lips curl downward. A tear trickles down her cheek. "It was you, Charlie. You were the sun peeking through the clouds, the fire on a frigid day, the food when I was starving. You were my hero. You made me hold on. You gave me strength when I was so fragile. I didn't think I needed someone to pull me out of the rings of hell, but Charlie, I did. I needed you, and you saved me. You gave me a life. You might not have been living beside us all, but you are the reason we are here."
"Oh, Amelia," I cry out. "I would have been a good father. I would have been a good husband. I would have given you the world if I could."
Amelia smiles through her tears. "I knew it then, and I know it now. I see you in Emma. You and your soul have traveled, Charlie. You have traveled generations. You are here, living within us."
"I missed out on our life," I tell her. It hurts me more than anything has hurt me in longer than I can remember. "I could have had a life with you."
"Look at me," Amelia says, her voice stern and brave. "I'll be damned if I die on that table tomorrow, Charlie."
"As will I," I tell her.
"I wrote you letters," I tell her. "I wrote you so many letters, Amelia. I didn't send them because I didn't know where to send them."
"Bring them to me, Charlie. After my surgery, I want you to read me every single letter. Please. We have time to relive the past and to move forward into the future. We have time. Tomorrow is not my last day."
I shake my head, understanding, and listening. "I will have those letters waiting for you tomorrow."
"Before you go, Charlie, can I ask you something I never had the chance to ask?"
"Anything, sweetheart." I can't imagine what she could have been wondering all these years.
"Why did you choose me to save?"
Chapter 15
1942
Terezín, Czechoslovakia
Amelia was assigned to her new job three days ago. She caught on to her role quicker than I would have, and she's a natural at helping others. Her assignment was to keep a log of all sick prisoners and mark down their ailment.
