“Oh,” Mom said, pointing at the journal, “then I’m glad I didn’t toss that out.” She started to leave, and then she snapped her fingers and said, “By the way, when I picked that up, there was an envelope that was stuck to a page that fell out. I stuck it in the back. Anyway, we need to leave by five, hon.”

“Yeah, I’ll be ready soon.”

When mom left, I flipped to the back of the journal, curious about this envelope. As Mom had said, there it was, between the last page and back cover. Removing it, I turned it over in my hand. There was nothing written on...