Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [129]
"I don't understand," Elena said. "You're supposed to be dead. Everyone is dead, Mama, Papa, and you. I'm the only one left. They told me so, over and over again. This is crazy. I must be dreaming. You can't be real, Yulia."
Hearing the Russian version of her name spoken in Elena's soft voice, which was so similar to her own, made Julia's stomach turn over. This was her sister. Her blood. And she remembered her now in vivid detail.
"I'm alive," Julia said. "And I'm real. This isn't a dream." She hesitated, then opened her arms and held her breath, hoping that Elena wouldn't reject her. She really needed to touch her sister, to know with her heart what she could see with her eyes.
Chapter 20
Elena moved slowly, uncertainly, finally putting her arms around Julia and giving her a tentative, brief hug. Julia would have liked to hold on, but Elena was already stepping away. They stared at each other again. It would probably take days for reality to sink in, but as the seconds ticked away, memories that had been buried deep within Julia came rushing to the front of her mind. She'd shared a bedroom with Elena, sometimes a bed when one of them had been too scared to sleep alone. They'd played together, fought together, laughed together, and cried together. How could she have ever forgotten Elena? They weren't just sisters, but twins. They were a part of each other, born together, meant to be together forever. Instead, they'd been torn apart, and twenty-five years was a long time.
"Where- where have you been all these years?" Elena asked finally.
Julia didn't know where to start. It was such a long, complicated story. "San Francisco," she said. "I was taken there after we left Russia."
"That's a long way from here. Why were you taken there, and I was brought here? Did they tell you I was dead?"
How could Julia say she hadn't been told anything and she hadn't remembered anyone? It sounded wrong. But she had to say something. Elena was waiting. "I was raised by a woman named Sarah. She told me I was her daughter, and I guess at some point I bought into the story. I don't know when it happened. Until yesterday, I couldn't think of a time when Sarah and I weren't together. She married a man and had another daughter, and we were a family."
"I don't understand. You didn't remember me?"
Julia felt another wave of guilt. She wanted to lie, if only to save Elena from being hurt by her words, but she couldn't let another falsehood be told. "I didn't remember anything until I heard your name yesterday. Then it all came back. I remembered the day Mama told us we were going to be apart. I remember how scared we were."
Elena stared back at her. "I don't remember that. I don't remember our parents at all. I just have blurry images of people whose faces never become clear enough for me to recognize. But your face was always clear. I never forgot about you. Are our parents really dead? If you're not, then-"
"No, that part is true. They died before we left Russia."
"Are you sure? They told me they died when we got here." Elena stopped, her eyes troubled. "Do you know about them? I asked and asked, but no one would tell me anything, not even their names. I just think of them as Mama and Papa."
"We have a lot to talk about." Julia saw Elena dart a quick look at Alex and realized she'd forgotten he was standing there. "I'm sorry. This is Alex Manning," she said. "He helped me find you. Do you go by Elaine now, instead of Elena?"
"I thought I'd always been Elaine, but now that you mention it…"
"You used to be Elena, and I was Yulia, but now I'm Julia with a /. I guess they wanted us to have more American names."
"I guess so," Elena said slowly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Manning."
"It's even nicer to meet you," he replied. "Is there anywhere we could talk?"
Before she could answer, the bell behind them jangled, and a curly-haired young man in his early twenties wearing baggy jeans and an extra-large T-shirt walked through the door. "What's up?" he said to Elena, then did a double take