He did not ask for forgiveness.

He said the responsibility belonged to the adults, never to the children.

When Naomi read the draft, she nodded.

“That’s honest.”

They put copies in a folder alongside the photographs and documents she had saved.

Naomi added her own letter, describing the joy and fear of the boys’ birth and the community that had helped raise them.

She included pictures of Frank, Mrs.

Alvarez, her colleagues, and the cramped apartment where Eli first learned the names of planets.