When I heard the lawyer’s words, it felt like the floor disappeared under my feet. ‘Your father left you an inheritance.’ I stared blankly at the man in the formal suit sitting across from me. My father had passed away more than twenty years ago, when I was just a little girl. How could he have left me anything now?
‘Excuse me, but I don’t quite understand,’ I finally managed to say, feeling my voice tremble. ‘My father died when I was a child. What inheritance are you talking about?’ The lawyer, as if expecting my question, opened a folder of documents.
‘Dasha, your father indeed died many years ago,’ he nodded. ‘But all this time, he had another family. And one of his last wills was for you to know the truth.’ I slowly sank into the chair, feeling my legs buckle. Thoughts swirled through my mind. Another family? So, all this time, while my mom raised me alone, he had another life, other children?
The lawyer silently handed me an envelope, neatly inscribed with my address. My heart pounded so hard I could barely breathe. I opened the envelope and read the first lines of the letter.
‘Dear Dasha, if you are reading this letter, it means I am no longer in this world, and the truth I hid is finally revealed. I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but please know that I always loved you, even if I couldn’t be near. Now you have a brother and sister you never knew about.’
The words swam before my eyes. A brother and sister? How is this possible? Why had no one ever told me about this?
All the way home, I was as if in a fog. Brother and sister. These words sounded foreign, as if I was reading someone else’s story, but I couldn’t believe they pertained to me. Mom met me at the threshold and immediately knew something was wrong.
‘Dash, what happened?’ she asked, looking intently into my eyes.
I was silent. Feelings of anger, pain, and betrayal washed over me, and I couldn’t hold back the tears. The words burst out of me as if on their own.
‘I have a brother and sister,’ I said, barely holding back sobs. ‘Did you know about this?’
Mom turned pale as if she had been struck. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. Her silence told me more than any explanation. She knew. She had always known.
‘Dasha, forgive me,’ she finally whispered. ‘I… I didn’t want you to find out like this. I thought I was protecting you. I wanted you to grow up without feeling this pain.’
Her words burned like fire. Protecting? Why did she decide I couldn’t handle the truth? I turned around and left the room, feeling tears streaming down my cheeks.
Several days passed. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to mom. Every word she said seemed fake, devoid of meaning. I knew I had to find out the truth. Through the lawyer, I learned that I indeed have a brother and sister—they lived in a small town nearby. They too received letters from our father, explaining that they have a half-sister.
Finally, I decided to meet them. We agreed to meet at a cafe in the city center. As I walked in, I saw a girl my age with short dark hair and a smile that held something familiar, waving at me. Next to her sat a guy, slightly younger than both of us, with a tense look and furrowed brows.
‘Are you Dasha?’ the girl asked as I approached their table.
I nodded, feeling a strange excitement and relief at the same time.
‘I’m Lena, and this is my brother Ilya,’ she introduced herself and the guy next to her.
We sat down, and silence hung between us. No one knew where to start. We were like strangers, yet at the same time, there was something between us that bound us stronger than any words.
‘I didn’t even know I had a brother and sister,’ I finally said, feeling emotions boil inside me. ‘And honestly, I don’t know how to deal with this.’
Ilya looked at me sadly.
‘We didn’t know either,’ he said quietly. ‘Our mom always said that dad had left and never came back. And now we learn that all this time he had another family.’
The words cut like a knife. I felt the same pain, the same anger towards the person who had betrayed us. But at the same time, I saw that we all suffered equally.
Months have passed since then. Lena, Ilya, and I began to communicate, and gradually I realized that they became part of my life. Our meetings helped me understand that family isn’t always about what you know from childhood. It’s about the people who come into your life and stay despite the pain and difficulties.
It took a while for my relationship with mom to heal. I couldn’t understand her actions for a long time, but eventually, I forgave her. We both realized that people sometimes make mistakes trying to protect those they love.
Now my family is bigger than ever.