The Baby He Buried Without Seeing
Chapter 02 - The Baby He Buried Without Seeing
Frank's wife, Laura, had been seven months pregnant when everything changed.
He had been twenty-nine then.
Working construction.
Drinking too much.
Fighting too often.
But he had loved the baby before she was born.
He had painted a small room yellow.
Built a crib with his own hands.
Then one night, Laura disappeared.
Her mother told Frank there had been complications.
The baby did not survive.
Laura had left town after the loss.
Frank was told she never wanted to see him again.
There was no funeral.
No grave.
Only a hospital bracelet Laura's mother mailed him weeks later.
Frank had believed it because grief made questions unbearable.
Now, staring at Emily's face on television, the old story shattered.
He searched the internet with trembling hands.
Emily Carter.
Age eighteen.
Raised by single mother Laura Carter.
Frank nearly dropped the phone.
Laura had not lost the baby.
She had taken her.
And she had changed their last name.
Frank whispered, “Why?”
The television continued playing.
Emily spoke about graduating early and earning a scholarship.
May you like
Frank did not hear the rest.
All he could think was that his daughter had been alive every day he had mourned her.
