Margarethe stood frozen in place on the clean marble floor of her huge home.
The small gold locket lay quietly right between her silk shoes and the wet child.
Her mind raced as a strange feeling of familiarity washed over her entire body suddenly.
She had seen that exact pattern on a piece of fine jewelry many decades ago.
Margarethe: Where did a young girl like you get something so valuable?
Lily: It was my mother's locket, and she gave it to me before she died.
Margarethe: Do not lie to me, child, that looks like a high quality antique item.
Lily: I am telling the truth, my mom wore it around her neck every single day!
Margarethe slowly bent down to reach for the shiny gold item on the floor.
Her hand trembled slightly as her fingers brushed against the cool metal surface of the locket.
She picked it up carefully and brought it closer to her failing eyesight to look.
The blue jewel in the center sparkled brightly under the crystal chandelier hanging high above.
Margarethe recognized the tiny custom engraving on the back side of the oval frame instantly.
It was an old family crest that belonged to her own wealthy ancestors from long ago.
Her chest tightened with a sudden wave of confusion and deep unexpected panic.
Margarethe: What was your mother's full name, little girl?
Lily: Her name was Sarah, Sarah Miller.
Margarethe felt the breath get knocked right out of her lungs at that simple response.
Sarah was the name of her lost daughter who walked away twenty years before today.
Margarethe: That cannot be true, Sarah went far away to the west coast.
Lily: She said she grew up in a big house with white marble floors like this.
Margarethe pressed her thumb against the tiny clasp on the side of the gold locket.
With a faint clicking sound, the oval frame opened up to reveal two tiny pictures inside.
On one side was a photo of Margarethe herself when she was a young mother.
On the other side was a sweet photo of a little girl with big blue eyes.
It was Sarah as a child, smiling brightly before the terrible family feud began later.
Margarethe's eyes widened in total shock as tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
She looked up from the open photo to stare directly at the crying child standing there.
The girl had the exact same bright blue eyes and soft chin as young Sarah did.
Margarethe: You... you are Sarah's child, are you not?
Lily: Yes, my mom said my grandmother lived in a place just like this house.
Margarethe fell to her knees right on the hard floor without caring about her dress.
She pulled the shivering child into a warm and fierce hug right there in the hallway.
Margarethe: You are Sarah's daughter... my actual granddaughter!
Lily: You knew my mom when she was alive?