FINDING YOU , LOVING ME

THE LETTER

CHAPTER 6

The Letter

Mia's POV

"Why?"

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Ethan stared at the photograph in my hands.

"I don't know."

"You said our families knew each other."

"They did."

"Then why did they lose contact?"

He looked toward the bookstore window.

"I think you should ask your mom."

My grip tightened around the photograph.

"She never talks about the past."

"Maybe there's a reason."

I looked at him.

"Do you know something?"

He was silent.

That was answer enough.

"Ethan."

"I know some things."

"Then tell me."

He shook his head.

"Not here."

"Why not?"

"Because this isn't only my story to tell."

His words made me pause.

He was right.

Whatever happened between our families belonged to more people than just us.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something important being kept from me.

---

That evening, I sat across from Mom at the dinner table.

She noticed the photograph immediately.

Her hand stopped halfway toward her glass.

"Where did you get that?"

I stared at her.

"So you know it."

She slowly lowered her hand.

"Where?"

"The Book Nook."

Her expression changed.

For a moment, she looked almost afraid.

"Who gave it to you?"

"Ethan."

Silence.

"Ethan Reyes?"

I nodded.

Mom looked away.

"Mom, what's going on?"

She didn't answer.

"Why do you know his family?"

She sighed.

"We used to be close."

"How close?"

"Very close."

I waited.

She finally looked at me.

"His mother was my best friend."

I looked down at the photograph.

"Then why did you stop talking?"

Mom's eyes became distant.

"Something happened."

"What happened?"

"I can't explain everything tonight."

"Why?"

"Because some things are better understood when you're older."

I frowned.

"I'm old enough to know why my family has secrets."

Mom was quiet.

Then she stood and walked toward a cabinet.

She opened the bottom drawer.

From inside, she pulled out an old envelope.

She placed it on the table.

"This was meant for you."

I stared at it.

My name was written across the front.

Mia.

My heart began beating faster.

"Who wrote this?"

"Someone who knew you before you could remember."

I slowly opened the envelope.

Inside was a letter.

I unfolded it.

The handwriting was neat and unfamiliar.

«Dear Mia,

If you're reading this, then perhaps the promise has finally been kept.

There are things about your childhood that you don't remember. Not because they weren't important, but because you were too young to understand them.

One day, you may meet someone who seems strangely familiar. When that happens, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Some people enter our lives by chance. Others find their way back to us.

Remember this: the past doesn't always come back to hurt us. Sometimes, it comes back to finish a story that was left unfinished.»

I stopped reading.

My hands were shaking.

"Mom..."

She didn't say anything.

"Who wrote this?"

Mom looked at me.

"Ethan's mother."

My eyes widened.

"When?"

"Years ago."

I looked at the letter again.

The words suddenly felt different.

When you meet someone who seems strangely familiar.

Ethan.

The boy from the photograph.

The boy who had promised to find me.

I looked at Mom.

"Did you know we'd meet again?"

She didn't answer.

"Mom?"

She finally whispered,

"I hoped you would."

---

The next day, I went straight to The Book Nook.

Ethan was there.

As soon as he saw me, he stood.

"You read it."

I nodded.

"You knew about the letter."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted you to hear it from your family."

I placed the letter on the table.

"What happened between our families?"

Ethan sat down.

"I don't know everything."

"Then what do you know?"

He took a breath.

"Our mothers had a falling-out."

"About what?"

"Something involving my father."

I frowned.

"Your father?"

He nodded.

"There was an argument. After that, our families stopped seeing each other."

"What kind of argument?"

"I don't know."

He looked down.

"My mother never told me."

I sat across from him.

"So we're both missing pieces."

"Seems like it."

I laughed quietly.

"This is starting to feel like one of my stories."

Ethan smiled.

"Then maybe we should solve it."

"Together?"

He nodded.

"Together."

For some reason, that one word made me smile.

I folded the letter carefully.

"Where do we start?"

Ethan thought for a moment.

"The old bookstore."

"What about it?"

"Your mom and mine used to meet there."

I looked around.

The Book Nook suddenly felt different.

Not just like a bookstore anymore.

It felt like a place holding memories we had both forgotten.

"Then let's look."

We spent the next hour searching through old shelves and boxes.

Nothing.

Until Ethan pulled out a dusty wooden drawer.

Inside was a small key.

Attached to it was a tag.

ARCHIVE ROOM — 1999

We stared at each other.

"There's an archive room?" I asked.

Ethan smiled.

"Apparently."

I picked up the key.

"Should we open it?"

He nodded.

"Together."

We walked toward the back of the bookstore.

At the end of the hallway was a door I had never noticed before.

I inserted the key.

Click.

The door opened.

Dust filled the air.

Inside were boxes, photographs, old books, and forgotten documents.

Then I saw something sitting on the desk.

A photograph.

I picked it up.

It showed our mothers standing together.

But this time, they weren't alone.

Beside them were two men.

My father.

And Ethan's father.

On the back of the photograph was one sentence:

"Before everything changed."

I looked at Ethan.

His expression had gone completely serious.

"Mia..."

"What?"

He pointed toward the bottom corner of the photograph.

There was a date.

September 5, 2012.

The exact date we first met.

My heart stopped.

Ethan looked at me.

"This isn't a coincidence."

I stared at the photograph.

For the first time, I realized that our childhood meeting might have been connected to something much bigger.

And whatever happened that day—

someone had been expecting us to find each other again.