𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫│𝐏𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐢

𝟗. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝

One week before her graduation 

"Can everyone stop telling me that? I miss you so much, Isabel. You have no idea how much I wanted to say goodbye to you before you died!" Pablo said, his voice choked with emotion. Isabel turned to him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Please don't cry, Pablo. I'm here now. I know you miss me, but you have to let me go. It's not healthy for you to hold onto me like this." Isabel said, taking his hands in hers. 

Pablo shook his head, unable to hold back his tears. "I can't just let you go, Issy. You were everything to me."

"I know, and you were everything to me too. -But we have to focus on finding my mother. She might still be out there." Isabel said, refraining from expressing her true feelings to him because she knew that if she told Pablo she felt the same way, he wouldn't be able to move on. 

Pablo nodded, wiping away his own tears. "You're right. We have to keep looking. We'll find her, Isabel."

They continued their search, rifling through stacks of papers and clicking through files on the computer. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the quiet room as they worked tirelessly, determined to find any clue that would lead them to Isabel's missing mother.

As the hours passed, frustration and exhaustion began to take their toll on them. Pablo leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired eyes. Isabel let out a deep sigh and slumped her shoulders.

"We've been at this for hours and we still haven't found anything," Isabel said, her voice filled with despair.

"Don't give up, Isabel. We'll find her," Pablo said, trying to encourage her. "We just have to keep looking."

Isabel nodded, and they resumed their search. Suddenly, Pablo's phone rang. He answered it and listened intently to the person on the other end.

"It's the police," he said, turning to Isabel. "They found a woman matching your mother's description in the hospital. She's in critical condition."

Isabel gasped, and tears streamed down her face. "We have to go to her," she said, grabbing her coat.

Pablo nodded, and they hurried out of the room, their hearts pounding with fear and hope. As they raced to the hospital, they prayed that Isabel's mother would be okay.

 [...]

Finally, they arrived at the hospital and rushed to Isabel's mother's room. She was lying in the hospital bed, her eyes closed and hooked to various machines. Isabel was struck by how much her mother looked exactly as she remembered her from her childhood, despite the years that had passed. Pablo stood beside her, praying for a miracle.

Unexpectedly, Isabel's mother opened her eyes and looked at Pablo with confusion. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked, staring at him.

"My name is Pablo, and I'm your daughter's boyfriend," he introduced himself.  

Her mother shook her head. "I don't have a daughter. You must have the wrong person," she lied. 

Pablo stepped forward, tears brimming in his eyes. 

"Isabel is dead, ma'am. But before she passed, she wrote you a letter." 

He took out the letter from his pocket and handed it to her mother. With trembling hands, she slowly opened the envelope and began to read. As she read the words, her expression softened, and tears began to fall down her cheeks:

Dear Lucia

I don't know if you'll ever read this letter, but I feel like I need to write it anyway. I've spent my entire life wondering why you left me, and the older I get, the more I realize that I might never get the answers I'm looking for.

Dad told me that you left to seek treatment for your addiction, but you never came back. You just disappeared without a word, leaving behind a family that loved and needed you. I don't understand how you could do that to us.

But despite everything, I can't help but hope that you'll come back one day. That you'll finally explain why you left and that we can try to make things right. I know it's a long shot, but I can't help the way I feel.

Maybe you're out there somewhere, struggling with your addiction, or perhaps you've moved on with your life and forgotten about us. Either way, I want you to know that I still love you and that I'll always be here if you decide to come back.

I don't know if I'll ever find closure in this lifetime, but I hope that wherever you are, you're at peace and that you know how much I miss you.

Love always,

Isabel