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I filled s with a deep breath and dived in There were a handful of CDs, nize, but so that told me my mother had been shorter than I was, a bracelet and a colorful blanket laid on top of two smaller boxes I took out one of the boxes and re to reveal its ceramic treasure

My throat closed, and my hands shook as I examined the small, smooth porcelain

"It’s beautiful," Landon said

"It’s a teapot" I laughed It couldn’t have been ht handle and light green shine

"I guess you’re more alike than Mrs Rhee realized" He took it from me, and I reached for the last box

It held only a small envelope with a handful of pictures My birth mother stared back atfroe that overlooked what I assumed was Seoul She couldn’t have been e, she’d already died

There were a few more just like it in different places in the city, and she looked equally happy in all of thehter," Landon answered, sitting closer to look at the pictures with me

I flipped to the last one and my breath abandoned me

She was held in the arms of a soldier--an American soldier He wasn’t meant to stay Mrs Rhee’s words were on repeat in my head as I stared at her face--and his They looked so happy, wrapped in each other--it was so right and so wrong all in the sa closer "Oh my God Isn’t that…?"

Eyes I kneell as my own stared back at me, and I was immediately thankful we’d skipped dinner, because I knew it all would have co just above my birth mother’s hand on the army uniforeles

I rubbed lanced at otten to set it back to LA ti like ere in Japan We’d only been gone three weeks--just long enough to finish out the term and all but one final a week early Our Civ papers were turned in, but we had to do a Skype presentation for our final grade

It was the only way the Study at Sea faculty would agree to the time off we needed for the X Gareed to seven Like I was in any shape for the Gae, but I would never regret the trip I’d taken with Rachel in its place

It had been the last time I’d seen her seether--that her dad was hers biologically--she’d withdrawn She wasn’t sad, or angry, or sarcastic--she was si in the car next to her noe drove toward her parents’ house, she was lost in her own thoughts