103: Gone

It was really Sofiya. Mama. This was her. Maksim brushed the tear that rolled down the corner of his eyes. Camilla was still on her knees. How did she get the pictures?

“I can’t tell you,” she finally said.

Maksim gulped. He didn’t want to ruin the progress they had made so far, but he had to know. Papa destroyed everything. The only memory he had was in his head. On some days, his mind played tricks on him. He couldn’t remember if she had jet black hair like him or auburn curls. The pictures showed it was jet black. He looked like her. Camilla tried to pry the phone from him. He didn’t release it to her but swiped on the next image to check for more pictures. Wow. They were gone. What happened?

“It’s gone,” he cried out in despair.

“Yes. You can only view it once.”

She must be kidding. When had he ever put a restriction on her family pictures?

“Tell me,” he snapped.

“I can’t.” She stood, wriggling her fingers. Her reluctance was thick, but he didn’t care. He wanted to see Mama again.