Altha stood there, frozen. Behind her, Sienna spoke softly. “I thought you knew,” she said. Altha turned slowly. “She was already here when I arrived,” Sienna continued. “Inside the house. Just sitting here… like she’d been waiting.” Altha’s breath caught.
“She kept saying she was looking for this place,” Sienna added. “Like she knew it… but didn’t know why.” The pieces began to fall into place. Later, a doctor would confirm it. Memory loss. Sudden. Severe. The kind that leaves behind fragments… and takes everything else. Altha looked back at her mother.
She had made her way back. To the one place she still remembered. Waiting. And somehow, the stranger Altha had helped without thinking… had led her right back to her.