Sophie opened the locket. Inside was a tiny portrait of her with her parents. Her father had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday, and since that day, she had never once taken it off of her neck.
Days passed, and at last, the time came for Sophie to leave the orphanage. The children clung to her, their faces wet with tears. The director stood nearby, as stern as ever, though his eyes betrayed the weight of the moment. Even Sera struggled to hold back her tears, her usual roughness nowhere to be found.
Sophie hugged each of the children tightly, whispering words of comfort. Finally, with one last glance at the place that had been her home, she walked away.
The train carried her to Felton—the land she had once called her own. There, she rented a small room with only two spaces and found work at a nearby jewelry store.
One afternoon, as she was cleaning the floor, a group of well-dressed ladies in their forties entered the shop. Sophie kept her head down, focused on her work, until suddenly a familiar voice called out, trembling with shock:
"Sophie!!"
Startled, Sophie looked up. Her aunt stood before her, smiling through tears. In the next instant, her aunt rushed forward, wrapping her in a trembling embrace.
"Are you Sophie? Tell me you are! Oh, are you not?" she cried desperately, searching Sophie's face.
Surprised and overwhelmed, Sophie could only nod, her heart racing as she realized what was happening.
Her voice trembled as she whispered, "Are you… Aunt Roxanne?"
Roxanne nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks, and gently took Sophie's hand. Leading her to a quiet corner, she finally spoke, her voice thick with emotion.
"That night… when everything happened, we searched everywhere for you. But when no trace of you was found… we thought—" Her words broke. "We thought you were gone. Your parents… they were laid to rest in the family cemetery."
Sophie listened in silence, clutching her locket. When Roxanne paused, she told her own story—of how she had wandered lost, how she had stumbled into the orphanage, and how she had survived there all these years.
Roxanne's tears fell faster. She had once been Sophie's maternal aunt and governess, teaching her everything a noble lady needed to know. But after Sophie's disappearance, Roxanne had resigned from her post. In time, she had married a count and built a life of her own—though her heart had never truly healed.
"You must come with me," Roxanne said at last, holding Sophie's hands tightly. "Your grandparents must see you. They have grieved for you so deeply… it aged them before their time. Seeing you again will bring them back to life."