Isaiah snorted. “You think that’s what I came back for?”
Sofia tried to ignore how that comment made her feel, but tingles spread from her chest through her limbs. She narrowedher eyes as something occurred to her, and she studied his face carefully as she asked, “How did you hear about the treasure hunt anyway?”
For once, Isaiah didn’t have a quick retort. He seemed to struggle over what to say. Finally, his shoulders relaxed, and he shrugged. “Okay, you caught me. I was already in town. I got here last night and saw the flyers for the event.”
“Last night? Why were you in town? Did you forget something?” Her tone was more accusatory than she’d intended. Her heart was beating too quickly, a tiny bubble of hope mixed up with the hurt and confusion floating just under the surface of her question.
Isaiah, whose right hand had slipped into his pocket, moved it in front of him. A small raffle ticket that Sofia recognized as being from Groundhog Day was clasped between his fingers. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You owe me an Italian dinner date, remember?”
Chapter Seventy-Three
ASH
Ash’s heart pounded as he and Holly followed Lumi down the street, blood rushing in his ears. He couldn’t hear anything around him. Then a small, warm hand slid into his, and Holly’s presence greeted him like a calming fireplace. He squeezed her hand, and together, they watched as Lumi knocked on the door of the apartment that belonged to Helena Laine.
The plum-colored door swung open, and a woman appeared. She had dark-blond hair that was naturally blended with gray in a way that made her look like a gracefully aging film star. She beamed when she saw Lumi.
“Lia! What brings you here today?” Helena asked.
Ash’s chest constricted.Is her voice familiar?He couldn’t tell. It had a warm tone to it that he thought he remembered, but she spoke with an accent he didn’t recognize.
“Hello, Helena. These are my friends Holly and Ash. They’re visiting from the United States. We were hoping you’d take a walk with us.”
The woman looked over Holly and Ash curiously. When her eyes landed on Ash’s face, her expression changed slightly, and her eyebrows rose. “Do I know you?”
Ash was about to speak when Lumi touched Helena’s arm. “Can we talk on the way to the park?”
Helena turned back into her house and emerged with a coat, which she slipped on as the foursome began to walk down the road. She kept casting glances at Ash, and he wanted so badly to tell her everything. But they’d agreed they didn’t want to shock her, so he let Lumi take the lead.
“Helena, when we met many years ago, you told me you’d come here on an exchange program in college and decided to stay. Was that true?”
Helena’s forehead creased. She glanced back at Holly and Ash. “Lia, I?—”
“It’s okay,” Lumi said. “You can talk freely in front of them. I’ve known Holly all her life.”
Helena nodded, Lumi’s words seeming to have soothed her. “To be honest, Lia, I made that up about the exchange program.” She wrung her hands then continued to speak. “I woke up in the heart of Helsinki on a snowy winter day and just… didn’t have any memories of what came before. I went to a nearby church, and they helped me to see a doctor, but we couldn’t find any explanation for it. I suppose there are better treatments for it now, but at the time, they told me that I should just wait for my memories to come back.”
Ash’s heart was racing again, and Holly still held his hand tightly.
“I made friends at the church who gave me a job, and soon, I became roommates with another young woman. Eventually, I grew comfortable in my life here, though I always knew something was missing. I wondered if I had family somewhere looking for me. It’s hard to explain what it feels like, not having a past. At times, I felt almost like an alien who had dropped out of the sky.” She laughed, and the sound hit Ash with force.
Her laugh was a sound he’d carried with him his entire life. He wanted to reach out, but he forced himself to wait a little longer. They had just reached the park, which was thick with trees and a spattering of snow.
“There were times when I had little inklings about my past, like hobbies I enjoyed.” Helena’s brow knitted. “There was one time when I had a strong feeling about a place that came up when I was browsing tourist destinations on the internet. I did that, sometimes, wondering if I would stumble across anywhere that would spur my memory. It was a town in the United States, actually.”
She glanced in the direction of Ash and Holly before continuing. “In Oregon. A cozy-looking inn appeared on the town’s website, and I sent a postcard there. I can’t even remember what I wrote on it. Probably just ‘Season’s greetings’ or something silly like that. I never heard back, so I figured it hadn’t meant anything. Or that whoever I’d left there preferred to leave things with me in the past.” She sounded sad, and Ash’s heart broke.
“Helena, I’m so sorry I didn’t know about this earlier, but I think there’s an explanation for your memory loss. I can’t explain it completely, but if I told you I could help you restore your memories, what would you say?”
Helena gasped, and her arms were shaking. Lumi clasped his mother’s hands.
“Lia, none of this makes any sense, but I’ve known you a long time, and I trust you. But how can I get my memories back?”
“I just need you to stand right over here and close your eyes.”
“What on earth?” Helena asked, but then her eyes shot to Ash’s, and she nodded decisively. “Okay, I’ll do it.” She walked a few feet away from them and locked eyes with Ash before closing them.
Holly and Lumi glanced around to make sure they were alone, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the woman in front of him.
