At age 17, Constance Cassinelli came across letters dated as far back as 1899 addressed to her great-grandfather, Nicola Cassinelli, from his siblings. When she held them, she said it was as if the letter’s authors were giving her instructions: “Remember us. Remember us.”

Right then, she decided to turn that request into a promise. Later, her father Emanuel told her he had thrown away the letters. Decades passed, and her promise remained on hold. Then, some 30 years later they found their way back to her. They’d not been lost after all. She fell to her knees, weeping with joy.