AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This is also the miracle I’d wished for not so long ago—a chance to return home to the family I’ve missed.
Albert told Maria he’s thankful and only wants me home safe.
I’m yet to tell him I have another child.
I only hope the husband I’ll be returning to will love me as much as the one I’m leaving behind.
Tonight, I spoke to Albert over a very bad telephone line. The crackling made it difficult to hear, but still we managed to talk a little and confirm I was okay.
I told him a lot has happened, and we’ll need to talk first.
He said his prayers had come true as he never gave up hope I was still alive. He knew my strength and how I’d fight to come home to him and Winston.
I broke down when I heard Winston’s voice.
I couldn’t tell him about Dawn. Not yet.
He reinforced he wanted me home safe again.
I want to believe it to be true. I also know Albert is a proud man and may not accept Dawn.
If he loves me like he says, then I must believe him.
Our family deserves a second chance.
50
EDEN
Oh, Gran.
My throat burns from holding back tears.
I swallow hard, only my mouth is dry. I close my eyes and try to control the emotion and pain swirling inside me for my grandmother. I can’t read anymore, partly because I already know the ending.
She returns to Australia alone.
Dawn, or should I say Kaikare, remains in Ulara.
What happened on her final visit?
Oh God, I can’t help it, and the tears cascade down my cheeks. I want to ugly cry.
“Hey.” Samuel’s arm snakes around my waist.
I take a deep breath and shake my head. “Everything is making sense. Gran…” I shake my head again, trying to string my thoughts together. “Her trip wasn’t an easy one. When she arrived home, people believed she was a little crazy, well, you know differently.” A sob escapes my throat. “No one knows what she went through except for Brenda. Pop wasn’t as forgiving as she’d hoped, yet she didn’t simply cheat on him with another man because of physical attraction. She did it to survive. She believed she might not make it home. It was so much harder in the sixties, and a gang, it’s not what they’re called, but you understand when I say they were after her. They wanted to kidnap her, so she hid in Ulara, and there was no way she could escape on foot. It’s more complicated than I can describe, and my heart is breaking for her.”
Samuel pulls me into his side. “You’ve always loved her.”
“I have.” I sniff. “I miss her so much.”
“I understand.”
Samuel wraps himself around me, and we simply lay together without speaking, holding each other until Rose demands our attention.
* * *
The Friday after my friends arrive back in Adelaide, we arrange to all meet out at The Shores cocktail bar for old-time’s sake.
