“I’m applying for the medical scholarship your foundation offers,” she said. “My mom told me… if I ever needed a reference, I should come to you.”
I frowned slightly.
“Your mom knows me?”
Emily nodded.
“Her name was Melissa Lawson.”
The air seemed to leave the room.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Emily continued quietly.
“My mom passed away three months ago.”
My throat tightened.
“Before she died,” Emily said, “she told me about you.”
I felt tears sting my eyes before I even realized they were coming.
“She said you were the most selfless person she had ever known,” Emily went on. “She told me you gave her a second chance at life.”
Emily reached into her folder and pulled out a sealed envelope.
“She also asked me to give you this.”
My hands trembled as I opened it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Anna,
I don’t know if you will ever read this. I’m not sure I deserve that chance. But I need to say what I never had the courage to say when you were still in my life.
What I did to you was the greatest mistake I ever made.
You gave me life. Literally. And I repaid you with betrayal.
Not a single year passed that I didn’t think about it. I wanted to call you so many times. I even dialed your number once, but I hung up before it rang.
I was ashamed.
I know I can’t undo what I did. But I want you to know that the life you gave me mattered. I spent it trying to be a good mother to Emily.
She wants to become a doctor someday.
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