The bakery filled with laughter again. Sofía learned to make conchas and pan de muerto. Elena learned to use a modern cellphone to text her daughter when she came home late.
Daniel kept visiting. He was part of the family. The tattoo on his arm no longer hurt; it had become a symbol of love, not loss.
A year later, mother and daughter returned together to Puerto Vallarta. They walked hand in hand along the boardwalk and placed white flowers in the sea—not as a farewell, but as closure.
—“I’m not afraid anymore,” Sofía said. “Now I know who I am.”
Elena smiled. Eight years of darkness had not defeated love.
Because sometimes, even after the longest disappearance, life chooses to return what should never have been lost.
And this time, forever.
