One hour later...
The monk passed in front of the door of a small room and heard footsteps inside, footsteps that indicated impatience or anguish.
"Jamal? Is everything all right?"
The door opened and the monk entered. "What's distressing you, friend?" The monk asked.
"I don't know... I have this feeling that someone needs me. I dream about a woman's face every night and I don't know who she is. Sometimes she is smiling, and sometimes she is crying, and I can't do anything about it".
After the children slept, Catherine sat on the balcony on the second floor. She took a bottle of wine and looked at a bright star in the sky. Everyone told her Steve was dead, criticizing her for keeping hope in Debby. "I can't lose hope. If I lose hope, what will I have left?" She thought.
"Catherine?" Mary took her out of her thoughts.
"Hi, Mary. Would you like to have some wine with me? I brought you a glass."
"Of course," Mary sat down next to Catherine and took some of the wine.
"I should be looking at cameras from towns near the place he disappeared from, but I'm so tired today, Mary. I'm so sad, so discouraged. Tomorrow Joe will be two years old, and it will also be two years and eight months since Steve disappeared".
Mary held her hand as a sign of support and comfort.
"The day I found out I was pregnant with Joe, I also received from the Navy the announcement of Steve's disappearance. It was such a turbulent time in my life and I think it affected my son's health," Catherine told Mary.
"Tomorrow I'm buying Joe a cake," Mary told her.
"We have nothing to celebrate, Mary."
"Of course we do, Catherine. Your son is alive, and he's a little piece of Steve that's here."
Catherine let the tears fall.
"I don't agree with what you do with Debby, keeping that folder. She's only four, Catherine. And when she finds out that her father's not coming back?" Mary didn't want to hurt Catherine, but she needed to say how she felt.
"I just wanted to keep her affection for Dad alive. Steve loves Debby so much, she was so expected of us, she was so planned. I don't want her to forget him."
Catherine put some more wine in the glass.
"But you talk as if he's not coming back. He's coming back, my heart tells me he's coming back," Catherine told Mary.
"Okay. I'm going to sleep, Catherine. Go to sleep too, you need to rest."
"I'm going to stay here a little longer," Catherine answered.
"It's okay. I already made the money transfer, so you don't have to worry about going to work tomorrow," Mary told her.
"Thanks a lot, Mary. I miss Doris, you know. I can't accept that Steve had the same ending as her."
Mary didn't want to talk about Doris because her death was still hurting her too much. "Good night, Catherine."
"Good night, Mary."
Catherine stayed there a while longer thinking. Debby woke up and went to her mother.
"Hi, honey. You should be sleeping," Catherine told her.
Debby climbed on her mother's lap and leaned her head against Catherine's chest. Catherine kissed her daughter's head and hugged her. "Mommy loves you, Debby."
"I love you too, Mommy."
Debby pointed to a bright star in the sky. "Look, Mommy. That star is so beautiful."
"Yes, it's a beautiful star, daughter."
"Daddy's seeing that star too?"
"I don't know, daughter. I don't know what time it is where he is now."
Away from there, Steve looked through the window blurred by the cold of the mountains. He unconsciously made a few traces on the window drawing a little girl.
The next day Joe woke up better and was playing with his sister in the front yard.
Junior took advantage of the lunch hour and went to Catherine's house to bring a gift for Joe. Steve always treated him like a father, and Junior liked the kids like he was
an older brother.
"Uncle Junior," Debby ran to him when she saw him enter through the gate. Junior picked her up in his lap and Joe ran to him too. Junior also picked him up on his lap and kissed both their foreheads.
"I brought you a present, Joe. Happy birthday, buddy," Junior told the boy.
Debby looked at him with a sad little face and Junior told her that he had a present for her too, although it was not her birthday. "Shall we get the presents from the car?"
Junior delivered the gifts and the children ran to show their mother.
"How beautiful! Did you say thank you to Uncle Junior?" Catherine told the kids.
"Thank you," Joe said to Junior with his childish way of talking.
Debby thanked him, too. "Thank you, Uncle Junior."
Catherine hugged him. "Hi, Junior. Thank you for the love you have for my children.
"You're welcome, Catherine. You know I like the kids."
"I'm so glad you came. Joe's got a cake, let's sing "Happy birthday to you" to him." Mary told Junior.
"Sure! I love cake!" Junior answered.
Steve was helping to sweep the monastery yard when he heard a voice in his head saying, "Hey, sailor". He looked around, but there were only men and the voice was female. Then he came to the conclusion that the voice came from his head.