In 1990, their daughter went missing during her prom night, and after 22 years, her father discovered an ancient yearbook that left him in shock upon spotting something astonishing inside. …

Once she decided someone was worth saving, nothing could change her mind. They sat in companionable silence for a while, their shared grief no longer a wall between them but a bond that had withstood the worst life could throw. «I keep thinking how young she was,» John said finally.

How innocent, despite everything, she believed in the power of love to change people. «There’s nothing wrong with that,» Nancy responded. «The world needs more people willing to see potential for good in others.»

Mary’s mistake wasn’t believing in change. She erred in thinking she could change him alone. John nodded, recognizing the truth in her words.

«I keep regretting she didn’t tell us about Samuel. Maybe we could have helped her see the danger.» «We’ll never know,» Nancy said gently.

«But I think wherever she is now, she knows how much we loved her. And knows we never stopped searching for her.» As darkness fell over Misty Ridge, stars began to appear in the clear night sky.

John thought about the journey that started a week ago when he found that yearbook. How a simple note about a borrowed book led to the answers they’d sought for 22 years. The mystery of Mary’s disappearance was solved.

But the deeper mystery of how to live with loss remained. Yet for the first time in decades, John felt peace. Mary had been found.

She was no longer lost in the unknown but part of the river she loved, free and unbound. John and Nancy would go on living, remembering, and perhaps finally begin to heal.