Keel, Achill Island, 10.02.2001

Dear Mona,

I can't believe it, everything is clear now. Yesterday, there was the auction. In fact, it was no real auction, but just a meeting. Brian O'Donnell has set everything in scene to meet his old friends again. He is a weird lad.

Everybody was there and so many potential heirs. Ex-wifes, children, even a widow! They were all disappointed that there was no heritage, but of course they couldn't show it in front of Brian. I have seen the fights.

Brian is really nice. There was a odd situation. Just after Brian had come into the room and cancelled the whole auction stuff, he walked straight to me, gave me his hand and said: "Hello Katharina, thank you for being here tonight. I was sorry to hear that your grandfather died. He was a great man." He knew who I was and he knew that my grandfather is dead. I was so surprised. Then things got even stranger. I think it's better to write down the whole dialogue, because otherwise it would get to confusing.

"So you know who I am and that my grandfather is dead."

"Yes, of course I know. We were real close friends and actually I'm a relative of yours. I'm one of the thousands cousins of your grandmother Annie Gallagher. You don't know, but there was a big row after she called off the engagement to Martin Blank, married your grandfather and moved to Germany."

Then he went on telling me a story that my grandfather never mentioned with any word.

My grandmother's family didn't like my grandfather at all. He was a joung man who was travelling around the world. He had only part-time jobs in several countries when he needed the money. Martin Blank was what you call an eligible young man. With him my grandmother would have been on the safe side. My grandfather was a kind of vagabond. No safety, olny love.

Annie broke up with her whole family, except Brian. They stayed in contact during the last fifty years. My grandfather also wrote a letter to Brian, telling him that I would come to Achill Island and that he should tell me the whole story.

For some reason he didn't have the courage to tell me everything. He never forgot that because of him his wife had to breake up with her family. Now I know my grandparent's story, but I can't still understand why he never told me. It's good to tell somebody what moved me the last weeks. I had so much to think about, and now I am so relived.

I won't come back soon. I will stay with Brian on Achill Island. He says that after so many years have passed nobody wants to recover past. They are really curious to meet me.

I hope you understand it.

Greetings and kisses,

Katharina

The final curtain.
Or is it?