“I am your grandfather.”
It would have been unfair to the child.
After the funeral, Gregory asked the family for time to check everything.
They found Elena’s letters.
They found old photos.
And subsequently, with the agreement of those involved, the biological link was confirmed.
There is no doubt.
Ana was his daughter.
But the truth didn’t give him the happy ending he would have wanted.
He couldn’t get back 35 anniversaries.
He couldn’t be there on the first day of school.
He couldn’t teach her to ride a bike.
She couldn’t hear her first word.
She couldn’t answer the questions that perhaps Ana had asked about her father.
And, most painful of all, you couldn’t tell him:
“I didn’t abandon you.”
A few weeks later, Maria brought her a box.
It was Ana’s.
Inside were photos, diplomas, greeting cards and a few notebooks.
In one of them, Ana had written at the age of 17:
