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Chapter 37

Author: Bryn
I opened the window, then the front door, and sat beside it until I could breathe steadily.

Then I messaged my therapist.

Not asking her to fix me immediately.

Only telling her I might need help that day.

That afternoon, I requested half a day off.

Lucia replied quickly.

“The work is covered. See you tomorrow.”

No questions.

No demand that I prove how badly I was hurting.

In the therapist’s office, I finally admitted something.

“I kept thinking he would tell someone to open the gate at the last
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    “The original was in the personal albums,” Rosa said. “I thought you might like to display it.”I touched the frame.My mother’s smile was wide.Not the composed photograph on the headstone.Not the perpetually argumentative woman in my father’s stories.I placed it on the little cabinet beside the watch.Then returned to the table.Selena had poured my drink. Lucia was asking whether anyone was sitting in the chair by the window.“No,” I said. “Take it if you like.”The words reminded me of who I used to be.I had cared so much about seats.If I sat closer to my father, did that mean I mattered more?If Livia took my usual place, should I quietly move?Every dinner had been an examination whose answers I had to guess in advance.Now, my table had no head.Only the people I chose to invite.Halfway through the meal, my phone chimed.The work group.The next stage of the new project had been confirmed. I would chair Monday’s meeting.I checked it, acknowledged the message, and turned th

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    After taking it, she showed me first.I wore no makeup. My hair was untidy from moving. My sleeves were rolled to my elbows, and the scars on my arm were clearly visible.I looked twice.“This one is fine.”Selena smiled and put her phone away.No one asked me to cover the scars.No one made a point of staring.They simply said we had finished moving, and that was good.That night, I sat alone in my new living room.My keys hung beside the door.My mother’s watch stood on the small cabinet near the window.Just as I was about to turn out the light, an email arrived from the lawyer.Attached were the final archive notes.The matters concerning my father, Viola, Enzo, and Livia had each entered their respective enforcement and follow-up stages.My required participation in my mother’s case was complete too.At the end, he asked whether I still wanted to receive personal letters they sent through formal channels.My fingers paused.In the past, I always felt I should leave one route open.

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    It was raining when the keys to my new apartment were placed in my hand.The apartment wasn’t especially large.The living room faced the sea. Beside the window was room for the dining table I had spent so long choosing.Before signing, I read every document.When I didn’t understand something, I asked.The agent explained patiently. He didn’t hurry me to trust him.I suddenly remembered Dario’s words years earlier.Do you really need to be so guarded even with me?Reading a contract carefully should never have required an apology for being cautious.On moving day, my friends came to help.Some carried books. Others organized the kitchen.Selena took a day off and arrived with a large bag of food.When she reached the living room, she asked whether she could set it down.I said yes.Only then did she put it there.Such a small gesture.I stood watching for a long time.Rosa noticed and smiled without saying anything.At dusk, we opened the last box.Inside were the old hard drive and s

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