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And with that ser one Nina suddenly saw her own life in focus All these years, she’d been traveling the world over, looking for her own truth in other women’s lives

But it was here all along, at home, with the one woman she’d never even tried to understand No wonder Nina had never felt finished, never wanted to publish her photographs of the wo up to thisbehind the ca to find herself But how could she? How could any woman know her own story until she knew her mother’s?

“They takeout the

Nina almost frowned To her, it felt as if half an hour had passed since Mom’s last sentence and this one, but really it had been only limpsed the truth of her own life

“Prisoner,” Mo her head “I try to die TryAlways I am too weak to kill myself” She turned away from theat last, looked at them “Your father was one of the American soldiers who liberated the work camp We were in Germany by then It was the end of the war Years later The first ti attention; I was thinking that if I’d been stronger, my children would have been with ates opened, and so when Evan asked me my name, I whispered, Anya I could have taken it back later, but I liked hearing her name every time someone spoke to me It hurt me, and I welcomed the pain It was the least of what I deserved I ith your father—one, and he was the only way I had to leave I never really expected to start over—I was so sick I expected, hoped, to die But I did not And, wellhow can you not love Evan? There That is it Now you know ” She reached down for her purse and picked it up, swaying slightly, as if balance were so of her story, and started for the door

Nina was on her feet in an instant She and Meredith moved in tande hold of one arm

At their touch, Mom seemed to stumble harder, almost fall “You shouldn’t—”

“Nous what to feel, Mom,” Nina said soft ly

“NoMo her cheek “You’ve lost so much ”

Moulp

“Not us, though,” Nina said, feeling tears sting her eyes “You’ll never lose us ”

Moave out on her She started to fold like a broken tent, but Nina and Meredith were there, holding her upright They got Mom back to her chair

Then they knelt on the floor in front of her, looking up, just as they’d done so often in their lives But now the story was over, or mostly told, and from here on, it would be a different story anyway From now on, it would be their story

For all of her life, when Nina had looked at her mother’s beautiful face, she’d seen sharp bones and hard eyes and a mouth that never smiled

Now Nina saw past that The hard lines were fought for, imposed; a mask over the soft ness that lay beneath