“There were things we were asked not to discuss,” he said. “Not with our families. Not with anyone. Some of us disappeared from our old lives without choice. We were too valuable an asset to lose, and yet, they feared we would fall into enemy hands.” There was no bitterness in his voice, only a quiet acceptance of what happened.
He paused, fingers tracing the rim of his cane. “And some of us were ordered to remain dead. For everyone’s safety. After the war, I rebuilt my life and identity.” Elise felt a chill at the matter-of-fact way he said it, as if vanishing from one’s own life was simply another assignment.