After Emily’s funeral, the house felt unbearably still. Every corner carried her presence — the echo of her laughter, the faint trace of her perfume, the photographs we had taken together. My eyes lingered on our engagement picture sitting on the mantle, and as I picked it up, something unexpected slipped from the back of the frame.
It was an old photograph of Emily, but not as I had ever known her. She was younger, her arms cradling a newborn baby. My breath caught in my throat. We had no children together — so who was this child?
I turned the photo over. Scrawled in Emily’s familiar handwriting were the words: “Mama will always love you.” Beneath it, a phone number. My hands shook as I dialed, unsure if I even wanted the answer.
A woman named Sarah picked up. Her voice was calm, warm — but what she revealed left me stunned. Emily had a daughter in her college years, long before she and I had met. She had given the baby up for adoption, but never stopped loving her. That child was Lily. Sarah, who had adopted her, explained that Emily had quietly stayed connected through letters and updates, cherishing her from a distance.
The next day, I met Lily in a small café. The moment she smiled, it felt like Emily was there again — her eyes, her laughter, even the way she tilted her head. We sat for hours, trading stories, stitching together pieces of Emily’s life that I never knew.
That evening, back at home, I placed Lily’s photograph beside Emily’s. For the first time since losing my wife, I felt something shift inside me. Though death had taken Emily away, life had given me a gift I never expected — a daughter.
And this time, I swore to myself: I would not miss a single moment of her life.