After Michael received the letter from the prison guard he was terrified of seeing Hanna in person. The letter said that Hanna would be getting out of prison in a few weeks and that he was the only person that she has had contact with the entire time she was in prison. They asked Michael to help her get situated with the real life in the city. Sense she has been in prison so long going back into the real world will be really overwhelming for her. Michael bought her a tiny apartment, found her a job with his seamstress, and furnished her whole apartment. He was nervous about going to see her, he wondered what she looked like and if she would act the same as she used to.
Finally the day came for Michael's first visit with Hanna. One of the prison guards escorted him to where she was. His first impression of her was not good. She looked really old, she had grey hair and was kind of fat; but still had the same youthful and stern voice that he remembered from many years ago. They talked about a lot, reminiscing on old memories and all that good stuff. She never mentioned anything about getting out of prison though. Michael even told her that he found her a job and an apartment, but she didn't have any comment.
Pretty soon the time came for Michael to pick Hanna up and take her home. Right before he was leaving his house he got a phone call from a prison guard, she said Hanna was dead. Michael's jaw dropped and he didn't know what to say. He went over to the prison immediately; the guard said that Hanna hung herself in her cell during the night. She asked Michael is he noticed anything different about Hanna, as if she showed signs that she was suicidal. It never crossed Michael's mind. Michael thought about Hanna for many years after that, everything he did reminded him of her. He tried to place her in the back of his mind, but somehow she kept popping back up into his daily life. The prison guard mailed Michael a letter, it was Hanna's will. She asked Michael to take all of her left over money and give it to the daughter who survived the church fire in the concentration camp. Michael tried to give the money to her but she wouldn't accept, she wanted Michael to have it. They both agreed on giving it to a Jewish charity for illiterates. They finally found the perfect charity and donated all the money to it, they were greatly thanked. They kept sending Michael letters of gratitude and one day he went to Hanna's grave and laid it on her tombstone. That was the first and the only time he would ever visit her grave.
The end of the book really suprised me. I didn't think Hanna would die! Let alone hang herself. I feel really bad for Michael through out the whole book. He thinks about Hanna all of the time and she is always on his mind. I feel like Hanna didn't care as deeply for Michael though. Over all this was a really good book, definately a cliff hanger, I suggest you all read it :)
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