“I had no idea,” Tanvi said.
“I don’t really talk about it.” Meena crossed her arms. “As I was going through Neha’s things, I found out why she left me this apartment. You were right. She knew my parents.”
“Oh my God,” Tanvi said. “What did you find?”
“It’s a little complicated.” Meena was cautious in revealing too much. “Neha wasn’t very direct about it.”
“You’re making assumptions,” Uma argued.
“I’m putting the pieces together,” Meena said. “Did Neha ever mention anything to you?”
“No,” Tanvi whispered.
“Neha probably got distracted and forgot about it,” Uma suggested. “She could be like that.”
“She never mentioned anything about it,” Sabina said.
“That’s too bad.” Meena was disappointed in their excuses and denials. One of them knew the truth. “I was hoping to learn more.”
“Who were your birth parents?” Uma asked.
Meena decided on half truths to avoid direct confrontation. “Neha didn’t leave any names, which makes it hard to research adoption records.”
“What did she say exactly?”
“A few notes here and there confirming that she intended to leave this apartment to me. It makes sense since she didn’t have any children of her own.”
“Leave it to Neha to be so vague,” Tanvi muttered.
“I never thought about searching for my birth parents. I wanted to know more about my ethnic background, but that was all. I loved my parents, and we were a family. I didn’t need to know more.”
“What about after they died?”
“Their death was shocking enough.” She rarely talked about this. She let the grief through instead of reciting an emotionless script. “There was an explosion. Something about an underground gas leak. They were in the house. I was already at school.”
“Oh no.” Tanvi took Meena’s hands. There were tears in her eyes.
“It was a long time ago,” Meena said. “I was barely sixteen, I didn’t realize what it meant to lose all the documents as well. Everything was gone, including any adoption records my parents might have kept.”
“I can’t imagine losing everything like that,” Tanvi said. “In an instant. My heart hurts for you.”
Meena cleared her throat. Tanvi’s kindness made Meena’s loss feel more acute.
“There is nothing left?” Sabina asked. “No link back to your birth?”
“I haven’t really looked. I didn’t know a lot, don’t remember what hospital I was born in or if there was an agency involved. When the social worker helped me get an ID, we went through my school records, but there was no birth certificate as part of it.”
“How can we help?” Uma asked.
Confess. Except only her birth mother knew. The other two were innocent. “I don’t think there is much, unless you remember anything Neha might have said to you.”
“She also was erratic about secrets,” Sabina added. “If she wanted to share, she would. If she didn’t think it was important, she would forget.”
Meena nodded but stayed quiet.
“It doesn’t matter how you got here.” Tanvi laid her hand over Meena’s. “You’re where you are supposed to be.”
“Be careful,” Uma warned. “She’s going to suggest we sit on the floor in a circle and meditate.”