My father stared at the photograph for so long that I thought he had stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
The kitchen was silent except for the sound of the clock.<\/p>\n
Tick.<\/p>\n
Tick.<\/p>\n
Tick.<\/p>\n
Finally, he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
My mother looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked confused.<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Dad held the picture tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can explain.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot another explanation.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the picture again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this man?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name was Mark.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe passed away.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked at the baby in the picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this child?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
I already knew.<\/p>\n
Somehow, I knew.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Dad looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my first child.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hit the room.<\/p>\n
I looked at my mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had another child?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nineteen.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice sounded different.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had a child and never told me?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked hurt.<\/p>\n
But I could see something else.<\/p>\n
Confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you had never been pregnant before we met.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Then Ethan pointed at the photo.<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy said that was her secret.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did she say that?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she was looking at old boxes.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Another secret.<\/p>\n
Another thing hidden inside our home.<\/p>\n
I felt like every wall around me was falling apart.<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins cleared his throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something important about this.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe child in the photograph.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas adopted shortly after birth.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdopted?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the picture.<\/p>\n
A baby.<\/p>\n
A secret.<\/p>\n
A life my mother erased.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is that child now?\u201d\u201d Dad asked.<\/p>\n
My mother didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
That was when I knew.<\/p>\n
She knew.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice became serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer shocked everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know where your own child is?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to find him.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore or after we got married?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
Dad laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked away from the table.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t listen anymore.<\/p>\n
I went to the living room and sat on the couch.<\/p>\n
My entire childhood was replaying in my head.<\/p>\n
Every family photo.<\/p>\n
Every holiday.<\/p>\n
Every moment I thought I knew my mother.<\/p>\n
But maybe I only knew the parts she allowed me to see.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, my father sat beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I mean it.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout any of this?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt.<\/p>\n
Because my father was the one person who deserved the truth.<\/p>\n
After a moment, he whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have protected you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed her.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a few minutes.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut those few minutes mattered.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked like he wanted to argue.<\/p>\n
But he couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Because he knew I was right.<\/p>\n
Then my mother appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t look at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to tell you something.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother secret?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat could possibly be left?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat across from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out you weren\u2019t pregnant\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t accuse you because I thought you did something wrong.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Her hands shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I needed time.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the DNA test.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat DNA test?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward Dr. Collins.<\/p>\n
Then back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe baby\u2019s DNA wasn\u2019t just compared to Daniel.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father stood up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was testing whether the baby was related to you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when I saw the results\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She started crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized I wasn\u2019t the only person in this family hiding something.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
My father stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
And whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, the test showed the baby is genetically related to you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand it either.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Then Dr. Collins opened the folder again.<\/p>\n
And pulled out another document.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping we wouldn\u2019t have to discuss this tonight.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed it on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the results are clear.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked at the paper.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
The doctor spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My father stared at the photograph for so long that I thought he had stopped breathing. The kitchen was silent except for the sound of the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}