The understanding of what Flora’s future would look like morphed from the initial shock of let down to a quick rebound and an endeavor to raise her right, especially for Halina after living her life not raised by her own parents.
“We can give her love. All the love in the world to make sure she always holds on to a connection with her mother. We won’t ever let her down,” Halina had said, holding Flora tightly to her chest as we left that last archive office.
Halina is still sitting at the table, scribbling something now as a smile pokes against her dimples. “Mischief. That’s all I see on your face,” I tell her. That’s not all I see, though. I see the woman who saved me when I couldn’t save myself.
I walk up behind Halina, finding her drawing stick-figure people, four of them, one man, one woman, a little girl with braids, and a baby, all holding hands.
“It’s almost like our very own folktale.”
“It’s real,” Halina says. “We’re real.” She reaches for my hand and places it over her swollen belly, placing hers beside mine, our matching gold bands. “But it sure seems like a miracle.”
It’s been almost a year since we exchanged our vows in a quiet ceremony outside, under the blue sky and heaven whereour loved ones were witnesses. Flora wore a wreath of daisies and stood between us. I told my girls the one important thing I hope they never forget. “You can trust me. To be yours. Forever.”
“Did you feel that?” she asks, her eyes glowing with excitement.
My pulse flickers as I realize what I just felt. “Did our baby just kick?” My words catch in my throat.
“It must be your touch,” she says.
Our baby. I’ll have a part of my past within my future. A gift. A blessing. For all of us.
I help her out of her chair and pull her into her arms just as Flora’s arms loop around our legs. As the sunlight spills in through the window, illuminating us within its golden stripes, it’s clear, that light has taken over the darkness.
A gentle knock on the front door startles us from our quiet moment. “Who’s that?” Flora asks, releasing her grip and racing toward the door.
Halina stiffens. Her hand lifts to her belly. I see the concern in her eyes before she says a word.
Neither of us were expecting anyone and the unexpected stirs inside of me as we follow Flora. “Wait over there please,” I tell our curious little girl, pointing to the space behind the door.
“But who is it?” she presses.
I scoot Flora to my right and open the door.
A woman stands before us, middle-aged, light brown hair pulled back at the nape of her neck. Her eyes…tired, but also full of hope.
“Can we help you?” Halina asks before I have the chance. She steps closer to the woman, studying her as if she can’t make out what or who she’s looking at.
The woman holds out a piece of paper, her hand unsteady. Halina takes it, unfolding it hastily. I can only make out the header: Registry of Names.
“Is there someone you’re looking for?” I ask her, wondering why she’s struggling to speak.
She swallows hard then stares directly at Halina. “I’m looking for you,” the woman utters.
“Me?” Halina whispers.
“Halina Wojic,” the woman says.
“Yes, I’m—I’m…she.”
“I’ve been looking for you for a very long time. I’ve traveled through many paths, between what seemed like every tree in this country in search of you. Your father locked down your records and documents—it was impossible. Until I was liberated from Auschwitz. That’s when I found your name in a registry of survivors. I wasn’t sure—I didn’t…”
Halina’s eyes fill with tears as she lifts her hands to her heart. “Are you—are you my mother?” Her last word is spoken in a breath.
The woman nods, a slow, timid gesture. A tear skates down her cheek as she searches between Halina’s eyes and her stomach. “You were a dream I prayed would come true. Even when they told me you’d been taken by your father. Even when I thought I couldn’t believe in miracles ever again.”
Halina touches her fingers to her mouth, a sob murmuring in her throat. “Mama,” Halina utters.
Flora presses between myself and Halina, then tugs on her sleeve and pinches my hand. “This is my mama and pa,” she says with pride. Then she tickles Halina’s belly. “And that’s my baby. But you can come inside too. Do you want to?”
