Dear Vincent and Catherine,

It’s hard to believe that you and Catherine are about to celebrate three years together.  It seem s like only yesterday that you were just a baby.  I often think back to those days and picture you as you were during that time so long ago.

That winter was a difficult one.  Many of the children were sick.  We had few Helpers and little medicine.  Scarcely enough food or clothing.  Everyone did the best they could considering the hardships we were facing, but after a while, one grey day stretched into another until it seemed spring had forgotten us and we were doomed to cold and darkness forever.

I could tell how worried father was about everything, but most of all about you.  As the days crept by and with each passing day you grew more and more weak I could see the despair in his eyes.  And even though he never said the words aloud, I sensed his fear that you were dying and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

He fought so hard for you, Vincent.

You, better than any of us, know just how stubborn Father can be when his mind is made up about something.  Well, he decided you were going to live, and so he turned every ounce of stubbornness he possesses into a fight to save your life.  But despite all his medical knowledge, nothing working.  Finally, in desperation, he brought you to me.

I suppose you wonder why.  The others did.  And I can’t blame them.  I seemed such an unlikely choice.  A young woman, new to the tunnel community, entrusted with the care of a critically sick child.

But Father knew something the others didn’t.

After all these years, I suppose he and Peter are the only ones left who know the whole story.  It’s something I’ve always found very difficult to talk about, but it’s something I want to share with you and Catherine.

I ran away from home when I was fifteen.  My stepfather . . . well, let’s just say I didn’t see that I had any choice except to leave.

When I arrived in the city I was almost penniless.  I had no skills and no where to turn.  But there must have been a guardian angel looking over me.  And instead of ending up on the streets, I met Tom and Sarah Shayne who gave me work in their small grocery store.  They couldn’t afford to pay much, but they gave me a room above the store and made sure I had warm clothes and plenty to eat.  Sarah even insisted I finish school and I don’t know which of us was more proud of my high school diploma.

It wasn’t long after I graduated that I met Will - Tom and Sarah’s son.  He’d been away in the Navy and from the very first moment I saw him I knew he was the one.  And as strange as it seems, he felt the same way.

It took me five years to agree to marry him.  Looking back I can see how silly my fears were.  I knew Will loved me, but I was sure I wasn’t good enough for him and that if I kept saying no long enough he would find someone else.  Someone smarter and prettier.  Someone who would make him happier than I ever could. I’m not sure what finally made me say yes.  But, suddenly I found myself married and happier than I had ever been in my life.  When I found out I was pregnant I couldn’t believe it.  Then our son was born and I had everything I had ever dreamed of.

And that’s when my world fell apart.

Within a month they were all dead.  My husband.  My child.  Tom and Sarah.  All of them gone.

The newspapers called it the most devastating influenza epidemic in seventy years.  So many people sick.  So many deaths.  I remember wishing I could die, too, just to escape the pain.  But instead, I found myself volunteering to work in the hospital nursery and working with the children gave me a small measure of peace.  It’s also where I met Peter, and through him joined the world being created here Below.

I know you must wonder what all of this has to do with your anniversary.  I want you to know my story so you would know how fleeting happiness can be.  I look back on the five years that I spent in limbo wondering whether or not I should marry Will and see they could have been another five years of happiness.  Another five years of memories.

Don’t make my mistake, children.  Don’t let fear stand between you and the happiness you deserve.  Hold one another close.  Love is the thing that matters most and the two of you have enriched all of our lives with the love you share.

I know there are obstacles standing between you.  Most of these problems can only be resolved by the two of you.  But perhaps I can help with one of the problems.  Jacob.  I’m on my way to talk to him now.

All my love to both of you,
Mary