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Back The Other Daughter Save as PDF
Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. OCTOBER 2014 London, UK
  4. PART ONE
  5. FEBRUARY 1976 London, UK
  6. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  7. FEBRUARY 1976 London, UK
  8. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  9. MARCH 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  10. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  11. MARCH 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  12. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  13. MARCH 1976 Lausanne/Bern, Switzerland
  14. JUNE 2016 Lausanne, Switzerland
  15. MARCH 1976 London, UK
  16. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  17. MARCH 1976 London, UK
  18. PART TWO
  19. APRIL 1976 London, UK
  20. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  21. APRIL 1976 Oxfordshire/London, UK
  22. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  23. MAY 1976 London, UK
  24. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  25. MAY 1976 London, UK
  26. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  27. JUNE 1976 London, UK
  28. JULY 2016 Lausanne/Montreux, Switzerland
  29. JUNE 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  30. JULY 2016 Thun/Reichenbach, Switzerland
  31. JULY 1976 London, UK
  32. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  33. PART THREE
  34. AUGUST 1976 London, UK
  35. AUGUST 2016 Lausanne, Switzerland
  36. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  37. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  38. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  39. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  40. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  41. AUGUST 2016 Montreux/Lutry, Switzerland
  42. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  43. AUGUST 2016 Lutry, Switzerland
  44. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  45. AUGUST 2016 Lutry, Switzerland
  46. OCTOBER 1976 London, UK
  47. AUGUST 2016 Vevey, Switzerland
  48. SEPTEMBER 2016 London, UK
  49. Author’s Note
  50. Acknowledgements
  51. More from the Author
  52. About the Author

He comes over to the terrace door, puts his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and she nods back, mumbles agreement with a tight smile. But I feel it, nonetheless. I feel what my place in this family is – the outsider, the interloper, the temporary help – and I wonder then, how it’s come to this. What am I doing here, pretending to be the mother I’ll probably never be? How did my life unravel so badly, when it had the potential to be like Julia’s? Why does she get to have all this, and not me?

Tears prickle my eyes, and before I can embarrass myself, I claim a headache, blaming too much sun, and head to my room. I sit on my bed and take out the photo of Mum in 1976, wondering what she was thinking then, and what she’d think of me now, if she knew what a mess my life had become. If she knew I wasn’t hers.

When I crawl into bed I reach for my phone as usual and my chest lurches when I see the message symbol. I punch in my unlock pin and sit up in the bed.

It’s been a long time since I heard the name Brigitte Mela.

I’m holding my breath as I scroll down.

Anna is her real name. Anna Meier. But please, I ask you to reply and tell me why you are looking for her? It’s important that I know.

Daniel Buchs

I read the message twice, three times, four. I stare at the name. Anna Meier. That’s why the hospital couldn’t find her. They didn’t have the right name. Anna Meier. Such an alien name to me, and yet it could be my mother’s name. I say it out loud in the quiet room.

Anna Meier. I say it again and some part of my brain kicks in, telling me it’s familiar.

Meier. An image flashes across my mind of a document.

Julia Sarah Meier and Michel Jean-Pierre Chevalley…

Julia’s maiden name. A prickle walks its way up my spine as I remember what else I found in her drawer. A handwritten letter in German and a signature with a large, looping A. Handwritten, not typed. Old-fashioned script. Kisses after the signature. Definitely an older relative. An older relative called A. Meier.

I put down my phone and gently lie back on the pillow, as though my head’s as delicate as glass and if I’m not extremely careful, it’s going to shatter into tiny pieces.

MAY 1976 London, UK

SYLVIA