Thomas explained that hospital staff had removed my mother’s ring because it kept slipping off her increasingly thin finger. She became distressed whenever it was taken away, so Margaret offered to keep it safe. They had protected it for weeks, hoping someone would eventually come looking for the woman they had refused to abandon. Hearing this, I felt ashamed of the accusations I’d made. I had spent the drive imagining they had somehow harmed my mother, when they had actually been caring for her while I searched desperately elsewhere.

“We kept hoping her family was out there somewhere,” Margaret said softly. “We couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone if they were looking for her.” Tears filled my eyes. “I was looking,” I whispered. “I never stopped. Not for one single day.” Then my mother moved. Her fingers shifted against the blanket, and her eyelids slowly opened. At first, she stared at the ceiling. Then her eyes found my face. I held my breath as her lips began to move.