Page 32 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

Electra spoke next. ‘So, Pa Salt’s bloodline continues. That’s crazy.’

‘I think it’s beautiful,’ Tiggy said soothingly. ‘And your eyes, Merry. I can see it now... they’re Pa’s.’

‘My goodness, you are correct,chérie,’ Ma said in wonder, her jaw dropping.

‘I suppose you became the missing sister because something happened to your mother,’ Star surmised. ‘He must have lost both of you simultaneously. That’s so sad.’ She put her hand to her mouth.

‘But he never gave up,’ Georg stated. ‘He dedicated his entire life to the search. In truth, it was why he was so often away.’

‘I thought Pa was away so often for work?’ said CeCe.

‘Your father retired many years ago. He made all of his money very young. As the years passed, his shares and interests grew, and he amassed a fortune.’

‘What exactly did he do for work, Georg? Whenever we asked him about it he’d tell us something vague about investments and finances until we became bored and left the subject alone.’

Georg looked back to me, and I took my cue.

‘So, Atlas has entrusted me with his diary, and the letter asks me to share its contents with you after I have completed my study of it. However, despite the instructions, I do not believe it is my right to know Pa Salt’s story before the daughters he knew.’ I gestured to Georg. ‘Which is why I have asked for six copies. If it is your wish, we can all learn his story simultaneously.’

After a pause, Ally spoke. ‘Thank you, Merry. That’s incredibly generous of you.’

‘I just wish he felt he could tell us all of this himself,’ Electra added sadly.

‘As I mentioned previously, nothing was done without cause. Atlas was the most intelligent man I’ve ever known. He kept Merry’s origins secret to ensure your protection,’ Georg asserted.

‘Georg, you keep going on about “protection” and “safety”, but I don’t have a clue what you mean. Not once growing up did I ever feel under threat,’ Maia said.

‘Then his plan worked.’

‘What plan? Seriously, I want some answers now!’ I hadn’t predicted that Maia would be the first sister to raise her voice.

‘Georg,’ I jumped in quickly, ‘have you been able to make copies of the diary yet?’

‘I have, Merry, they’re safely stowed downstairs.’

‘Would you be so kind as to bring them up and hand them out? I think we’ll all feel a lot better when we have something physical in our hands,’ I added decisively.

The lawyer nodded, and as he passed Ma, I noticed that she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Both had clearly been anticipating this moment.

‘This trip was supposed to be about honouring Pa’s memory. Instead, I feel like we didn’t even know him at all,’ Electra muttered, her eyes cast down.

‘Thisworldhe created for us,’ CeCe said. ‘Why didn’t we question it further? It’s not like any of us are stupid, is it?’ Her voice cracked, and she inhaled sharply as the sobs began. Star stood and went to put an arm around her sister. ‘Sorry, guys. I’m just tired. We’ve all had to grow up so quickly in the last year. Learning to live without Pa, travelling the world, finding our birth families – it’s been a whirlwind. I thought that this trip would be a chance for all of us to say a goodbye and begin a new chapter. But guess what? There’s more! I’m just exhausted.’

CeCe’s speech had a cumulative effect on the others. They all clearly empathised with their sister’s opinion. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

‘My girls,’ Ma began. ‘My beautiful, talented, kind girls. I am sorry that your lives have been so full of drama lately. You have all experienced such prolific grief in the last year. But remember, alongside it, many highs too.’

I noted how the sisters looked at her. Suddenly, the grown women in front of me were children again, unnerved and seeking parental comfort.

‘Do you know what I think?’ she continued. ‘I think that our lives are like heartbeats, displayed on a monitor. They go up and down. And what does that tell you? That you arealive, my dears.’ I noted one or two smiles from the sisters. ‘If each of you had a dull and boring existence, then the monitor would not go up and down. It would be flat! And what would that mean? That you are not alive at all!’ Some of the smiles turned into giggles. ‘So you see, it is better to have this... excitement in your life, than for the days to pass like buses, one after the other, forever and ever...’

‘Pa used to say that to experience the best moments in life, you have to know the worst,’ Tiggy said.

‘That’s right,chérie. You will soon learn that your fatherdid experience the worst moments that life can deliver. But he also experienced the best, which were all tied to you, his children.’

‘So youandGeorg know about Pa’s past then, Ma? Why would you keep it from us?’ asked Maia.

‘Non!Enough now. This is not about myself and Monsieur Hoffman. It is about your beloved pa, and the path he wished for you to follow.’