She had always thought that when she eventually had children, creating a little brood of her own, it would fill the void – the emptiness she had carried around inside her – and she would be able to move on. However, she knew that Connie was wrong. Her visit to Aldeburgh had made her realise that whatever she found, and wherever it led, it would be worth it to discover who she was and where she was from.
Lili took a deep breath and took the first step towards learning the truth about her past and finding her family. She knew it was time.
‘What are you doing?’
Lili flinched. The timing of the nurse walking into the room could not have been worse. She had caught her taking the ring off Joseph’s finger. Lili was mortified. It was in her hand. ‘It’s not what it looks like,’ Lili said hastily. ‘I wasn’t going to steal it – if that’s what you’re thinking.’
The nurse stared at her.
Lili wanted the ground to swallow her up. When she had walked into the room, she’d seen that Joseph was sleeping and had taken her chance. ‘I have a ring just like it.’ Lili showed the nurse the ring with the markings on the inside of the band. ‘Look.’
The nurse stepped closer and examined Lili’s ring.
‘That’s unusual.’
‘I know. It’s amber.’
‘I’m not talking about the amber. I’m talking about the inside of the band.’
‘Oh, you mean the markings. I wanted to see if Joseph’s ring is the same.’
‘Is it?’
Lili turned the band over in her hand. She knew before she took the ring off his finger that it would have an inscription. She felt it. ‘It is,’ Lili remarked. ‘I just don’t know what it means.’
‘Let me see.’
Lili handed over his ring.
The nurse got out her glasses from the pocket of her uniform and slipped them on.
‘It’s Hebrew.’
They both turned around at the sound of a woman’s voice. Sarah was standing in the doorway. Lili, startled, got up from her seat next to Joseph’s bed, wondering how long Sarah had been standing there. ‘I wanted to look at Joseph’s ring. I have one just like it.’
‘Yes, I heard.’ Sarah stepped into the room and held out her hand. The nurse handed over the ring on her way out.
Sarah looked at Lili. ‘May I see yours?’
‘Oh yes, of course.’ Lili put her hands around her neck and unclasped the necklace. She laid the pendant in Sarah’s hand. ‘Can you tell me why Joseph has an identical ring?’ she asked. She stared at Sarah who was scrutinising Joseph’s band first.
‘He never takes the ring off,’ Sarah said. ‘The inscription reads,May our souls be bound everlasting. She glanced at Lili. ‘This is a Hebrew wedding ring.’
‘Is mine a Hebrew wedding ring too?’
Sarah picked up Lili’s ring. ‘Yes, it is.’
Lili nodded. She’d had a feeling it was. ‘Like Joseph’s, there’s an inscription on the inside of the band.’
‘Hebrew wedding bands with inscriptions are quite common. You know, you could have gone into a jeweller and they would have shed some light on it for you.’
Lili knew that, but she’d never wanted to look into her past; not until now. ‘Can you tell me what it says?’ asked Lili, intrigued.
Sarah held up the ring to the light, turning it around in her fingers as she read the engraving.
‘Well, what does it say?’
‘May our souls be bound everlasting.’ Sarah lowered the ring and stared at Lili.