In this moment.
Mary Perryne could hardly believe what she had just heard.
She stared at Mandel Thompson, her eyes turning red.
"Mother," Mandel began slowly, "we have found my little sister."
"Mandel, say that again."
She had been searching for eighteen years.
Longing for eighteen years.
Thinking about her for eighteen years.
Over these eighteen years, she had experienced countless moments of hope, and then countless moments of despair.
No one could comprehend that feeling.
How many times she would wake from a dream at midnight, only to find her pillow wet with tears.
Now, she was no longer able to withstand any more blows.
"Mother, you heard right. We found my little sister," Mandel continued.
Upon hearing the affirmative response, Mary's legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.
Thud!
"Viola!"
In the next moment, she abandoned her usual composure, hiding her face as she cried, almost wailing.
