Lily had written about me too.

About how I kept insisting everything would be okay. About how I refused to face the truth because I couldn’t survive it.

“Lily didn’t want me to fall apart…” I whispered, my voice breaking apart.

That was when I lost control again.

I turned and buried my face against Judy’s shoulder, sobbing harder than I had in weeks.

And for the first time since Lily died…

I stopped trying to hold everything inside.

I don’t know how long Judy held me.

She never rushed me. She simply stood there, steady and patient, letting me cry in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to since losing Lily. Eventually, I pulled away and wiped my face.

Then something suddenly occurred to me.

“Ju… how did you know which storage facility to come to?” I asked slowly. “I never gave you the address.”

She hesitated before sighing softly.

“It took you a while,” she said with a faint smile. “I helped Lily organize all of this for months. She insisted.”

I stared at her.

“You knew?”

My sister nodded. “Li came to me about six months ago. She said she needed help with something important. At first I thought it was school-related, but then she showed me her plan. She used her birthday money and what she earned babysitting Mrs. Greene’s son downstairs. I helped pay for the storage unit.”

I looked around again, overwhelmed all over again.

“She made me promise not to tell you,” Judy explained. “She said you weren’t ready yet.”

I let out a shaky breath. “She was right.”

Judy pointed toward the last box.

“There’s one more thing.”

I walked toward it slowly.

The final box sat slightly apart from the others.

Inside was only one envelope labeled: “LAST ONE.”

When I opened it, a small video drive slid into my hand.

“That’s it?” I asked quietly.

“That’s the important one,” Judy replied. “I brought my laptop.”

Of course she had.

Judy opened her laptop while we sat together in her car. I held the drive tightly in my hands.

“You ready?” she asked.

I wasn’t. But I nodded anyway.

The video loaded.

Then Lily appeared on the screen.

She sat on her bed looking directly into the camera.

My breath caught instantly.

“Hi Mommy…”

I covered my mouth.

“If you’re watching this, it means you stayed stuck longer than I hoped.”

A weak laugh escaped me through tears.

“I know you,” she continued gently. “You’re probably not leaving the apartment unless you have to. You’re not answering calls. So, listen… I need you to do something for me.”

I shook my head slightly, overwhelmed already.