The morning sun filtered in through gauzy curtains, spilling onto a tangled sheet of limbs—Maya, curled into Elise's side, her arm draped possessively over Elise's waist. For a moment, the world was just cotton and skin, the warm scent of coffee drifting from the kitchen where Jules had clearly made herself at home again.
But even in that stillness, Maya's thoughts weren't quiet.
The show was in two weeks. Echo Prints was already drawing whispers from curators and collectors. Jo's story had transformed the gallery into a temple of longing. Elise's framing choices were genius. Maya's exposures were tighter than ever.
And yet…
She couldn't shake the chill that came when she opened her inbox that morning.
Because the subject line read:
Anna L. Kramer—Alive and Well.
1. A Ghost in the Mailbox
The email was from a woman named Sara Wexler, a librarian in Vermont. She'd seen an article about Echo Prints on a small arts blog and recognized a name.
Hi Maya,
I think I might have information about the woman in your upcoming exhibition. Anna Kramer was my aunt. She's not dead. In fact, she lives here in Montpelier. I showed her the picture.
She cried.
She wants to talk to you.
Please respond.
Sincerely,
Sara W.
Maya reread it three times, then clicked the attached image.
There it was. Anna's face—older, time-softened, but unmistakably the same woman from the rooftop photo. Standing in front of a small white cottage. Holding the newspaper clipping about Echo Prints. Tears in her eyes.
Maya closed her laptop. Her heart thundered.
"Elise?" she called.
2. Elise's Silence
Elise read the email, lips parting slightly. She rubbed the back of her neck and leaned back on the sofa, the tension slowly gathering across her shoulders.
"This changes things," she said flatly.
"It could give the exhibition even more depth," Maya said cautiously. "A living connection. We could interview her. Maybe record—"
"Or it complicates everything," Elise interrupted. "What if Jo doesn't want this?"
Maya frowned. "Jo would want the truth. Wouldn't she?"
Elise looked away.
Maya studied her. "Why does it feel like you're not telling me something?"
"I just think… we're building something delicate," Elise said. "You and I. The show. The gallery. Jo gave us her blessing—but this is someone else's story now."
"Elise, I'm not going behind your back," Maya said, voice tightening. "But I have to go."
"I didn't say don't go," Elise murmured. "Just be careful. Not every story wants to be reopened."
3. Montpelier
Three days later, Maya stood in front of the same white cottage from the photo. Autumn had arrived early in Vermont. Leaves the color of fire littered the cobblestone path, and woodsmoke hung in the air.
Sara opened the door—a tall woman with sharp eyes and a protective stance. "She's in the sunroom. She hasn't stopped looking at that photo."
Maya stepped inside, heart pounding.
There sat Anna.
Eighty-something. A knit shawl over her shoulders. The rooftop photo on her lap.
She looked up. Her eyes were still wild and full of wonder.
"You must be Maya," she said, her voice soft like paper. "You've stirred up ghosts, haven't you?"
Maya sat down across from her.
"I didn't mean to. I only found your photo. It was inside Leaves of Grass."
Anna laughed gently. "Of course it was."
She touched the image. "That day… I didn't know it would be goodbye. I thought Jo would follow me. She didn't."
Maya hesitated. "She looked for you."
Anna's eyes flicked up. "Too late."
Then she handed Maya a thin stack of letters—unopened.
"All these years," she said, "Sara kept them from me. My family didn't want… that version of me. But when Sara found them in the attic, she let me read the truth."
Tears slipped down Maya's cheek.
"Do you want to see her?" Maya asked.
Anna shook her head. "No. Let her memory stay young. Let her love stay pure. But tell her I forgave her."
4. Return
When Maya returned to the city, Elise was waiting.
They didn't speak at first—Elise just folded Maya into her arms. They stood in the darkroom, backlit by the red glow of the safe light.
"She's alive," Maya whispered into her shoulder. "She forgives Jo. But she doesn't want to see her."
Elise pressed a kiss to Maya's temple. "Then that's her peace."
"I got something," Maya said, holding out the stack of letters. "I want to use them. Her handwriting, her voice. Interwoven with Jo's."
Elise hesitated.
"You hate the idea," Maya said quietly.
"No," Elise said. "I think it's beautiful."
But she didn't sound like she meant it.
5. Cracks
Over the next week, the gallery buzzed with last-minute changes. Maya restructured the layout, pairing Anna's letters with Jo's poems, building a delicate arc of loss and rediscovery.
Elise worked tirelessly, but something in her was pulling away.
Jules noticed first.
"She's icing you out," Jules whispered one afternoon. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Maya said, frustrated. "She says she's fine, but…"
"She's scared."
"Of what?"
"You, maybe."
Maya blinked.
6. The Fight
The night before the private viewing, Maya found Elise in the studio, hunched over a cracked frame.
"It's warped," Elise muttered. "Humidity."
"Elise," Maya said softly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
Elise slammed the frame down. "Fine. I'm scared, Maya. Okay? You're being seen now. People are writing about you. You're going to be known."
Maya stepped back. "Why would that scare you?"
"Because I'm not built for that world!" Elise shouted. "I build frames. I hang lights. I don't pose for photos or write curatorial statements. You're out there. I'm… background."
Maya's heart cracked. "You think I'm leaving you behind?"
"I don't know," Elise whispered. "But you're flying, Maya. And I'm terrified I'll just be something you outgrow."
Maya crossed the room and took Elise's face in her hands.
"You're the reason I fly," she said fiercely. "There is no version of this where I leave you behind."
Tears welled in Elise's eyes.
And then Maya kissed her—like a vow. Desperate, real, necessary.
They held each other until the studio lights faded.
7. The Twist
The morning of the show, Maya received another email.
From: Jo Ramirez
Subject: One More Surprise
Maya,
I thought you should know—Anna wrote me. The last letter she received.
She told me she remembers.
She told me to come see your show.
So I will.
Thank you for giving us this chapter.
Jo
Maya read the message with trembling hands.
She turned to Elise.
"She's coming."
8. Echo Prints
The gallery buzzed with warmth. Jo arrived early—quiet, reverent. She wore a silver scarf and paused for a long time in front of the final photograph: the rooftop kiss, printed full size, layered over Anna's handwritten lines.
She loved me before I knew myself.
And I let her go before I could hold her.
Tears streamed down Jo's cheeks.
Maya stood beside her.
"She saw it," Jo said softly. "She felt it."
"Yes," Maya said. "And she forgave."
Jo turned to her. "Then so can I."
9. After
Later that night, after the last guests had gone, Maya and Elise stood alone in the gallery.
Empty wine glasses. Scattered flower petals. Silence.
"You were brilliant," Elise said.
"You were my anchor," Maya whispered.
They leaned into each other.
And though the room was quiet, the walls still sang with stories.
Theirs.
Jo's.
Anna's.
All of them blooming, at last, in the open.