CHAPTER 3 — THE STRANGER’S STORY
The next morning, she returned to the cemetery.
The young woman was still there.
Like she never left.
The baby slept in her arms, peaceful against the cold air.
“You stayed,” the mother said quietly.
The young woman nodded. “I had nowhere else to go.”
A long silence passed.
Then the mother finally asked the question she feared most.
“Was my son… happy?”
The young woman hesitated.
Then nodded slowly.
“Yes,” she said. “Until the accident.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“He was going to tell you about the baby that week. He even picked a name.”
The mother closed her eyes.
For the first time since her son’s death, she didn’t feel anger.
Only emptiness.
“What was the name?” she asked.
The young woman looked down at the baby.
“Ethan.”
The wind stopped.
May you like
Even the trees seemed to freeze.
That was her son’s name too.
