A Journey Through Genealogy and Lost History
With the passing of days, I felt an increasing urge to find out more about the couple from the letters. Who were they? Did they ever meet once more? The historian in me did not want the story to end in the middle. I went over online archives, libraries, and genealogy databases for any descendant or lead to their past.
Weeks pass by as I am at it with my research work, and true enough, I discovered really interesting pieces of the puzzle. It then turned out that the explorer’s name seemed to appear in passenger manifests, historical records from various diplomatic events, and reports on archaeological digs. His expeditions took him to places as far as Egypt and Greece, and it was said that he unearthed ancient relics now scattered across museums worldwide. But as for what befell him at the tail end of his life, that was hardly spoken of—just an unexplained disappearance coinciding with the sealing of the secret room.
I came across a surname similar to the lover’s in an early census record. It seemed she had lived for many years in the neighborhood in vain expectation of his return. Almost I could see her standing in the house, watching with longing hope that one day her lover would cross the threshold of the front door. It was another poignant reminder that not all stories end well-but that they are worth telling.
