The Book of Lost Names

Sixty-three years later, Eva Abrams waits for her flight to Berlin, contemplating how the decision she made to stay in Aurignon all those years ago changed the trajectory of her life. In those six decades, she did her best to erase the past as she left the war, Aurignon, and Remy’s death behind her to move to America with her husband, Louis. Now, she realizes the past never truly left her.

She sees a little boy playing on the floor in the airport and stares at him, remembering her son Ben at that age. Wondering if the boy likes to read, she asks his mother, hoping that some type of yearning for the magic found in books exists in this young boy. The mother says that the boy is too young and cuts off the conversation. Eva suddenly wishes to tell Ben the truth about who she is, but when she calls him, the call goes straight to voicemail. As she walks onto the plane, he returns her call, but she rejects it and turns the phone off, knowing he will only try to convince her to stay.