Andrzej turned when he saw me.
“There you are,” he said. “We’ve been looking for you.”
“Why?”
“We need to decide what happens to Father’s belongings. The house cannot remain frozen in time forever.”
Mirosław nodded.
“We thought we would start with the bedroom. There are old papers and personal things that need sorting.”
My heart began to race.
“What papers?”
“Documents. Receipts. Old letters. Nothing important.”
Andrzej looked toward the corridor.“Have you already gone through Father’s things?”
I forced myself to remain calm.
“I cleaned his room yesterday.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
For the first time, I noticed how closely he was watching me.
I thought of the iron box.
The deed.
The letter.
“No,” I said. “I haven’t removed anything.”
It was not entirely a lie. I had not taken anything out of the house.
But I had moved the documents from the cellar into a place where I could keep them safe.
