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turning the page

Like an endless unraveling spool of ribbon, the letters that arrived and were dispatched were constant as Essie and her son Nicolas began to lay down the foundation of their relationship via written words. It filled Essie with boundless joy to be in communication with the person she most treasured in the world other than Stellan, and the rest of the Soininen clan. She studied his letters day in and day out, lovingly admiring the handwriting and the information that had flowed from his mind to his pen to the paper she held.

There was no mistaking his intellect -- he was far smarter than she could ever hope to be. It seemed there was very little he was not interested in; science, medicine, botany, literature, philosophy and the list was growing with every letter he sent. Nicolas enjoyed engaging in debates with her regarding various authors and literary works, suggesting new books and journals to "expand her horizons" as he so elegantly put it. He was an avid reader, and was currently completing a deep dive into Teilhard de Chardin, G.K. Chesterton, and Maritain, and other philosophers.

He was a brilliant young man, who found that medicine was his calling but art in the forms of music and painting would always have his heart. His adoptive parents had a grand piano that was under constant use when he was at their home, and he adored the real artwork on their walls -- Picasso and Chagall etchings. His adoptive parents had taken him around the world several times and he was quite familiar with nearly every city.

With Stellan returned to her, Essie used him as a sounding board for the letters, reading excerpts from them as he was the one person who she felt could understand just how proud she really was of her son. While she may have not been able to provide the vibrant, educated, loving life she had wanted for him, he did indeed receive just that. And he wanted to meet her.

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