After my mother passed away, my
uncle was cremated.
Chapter One
It was three years after Mom passed when
some guy showed up at my door.
C
He grabbed my arm, squeezing hard. “You
must be her little bastard,” he spat. “You look
just like her!”
“Where’s your mom hiding? Tell her to get her
butt out here!”
I mumbled, barely loud enough for him to
hear, “My mom’s dead.”
“Dead? You’ve gotta be kidding me. She had
the nerve to pop out a kid, but she can’t face
He started tearing the place apart, throwing
stuff everywhere.
Finally, he just stopped, like all the wind had
been knocked out of him. “Well, she can’t
hide forever,” he mumbled before walking out. I swear, I thought I saw a tear run down his
cheek, but maybe it was just my imagination.
It was three years after Mom died when some
guy showed up at my door.
He was frowning like he smelled something
rotten. “You must be her kid, right? A chip off
the old block, just as annoying as she was.‘
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I didn’t know what he was talking about. I just
wanted to get home.
I had to make dinner for Dad, that had been
<
my job since Mom left us.
“Where’s your mom? Her number’s
disconnected, she’s ghosting me, what’s the
deal?”
I looked up at him, confused by his nasty
words.
He chuckled, cold as ice. “She can’t think she
can hide from me, does she?”
I sniffled and said quietly, “My mom’s dead.”
He must not have heard me because he
crouched down, putting his face closer to
mine, asking me to repeat myself. “Who died?
Say that again.”
He finally took off his sunglasses.
That’s when I saw he had the same pretty
eyes as Mom, and the same straight nose.
He looked a lot like her.
My nose started to burn, and my eyes started
to tear up.
I missed Mom so much.
He said he was my uncle, Mom’s brother.
He showed me a bunch of photos on his
phone.
There was Mom in her school uniform, and
younger photos that I hadn’t ever seen before.
I wasn’t even born yet!
<
Mom wasn’t smiling in any of the pictures,
which was odd.
I asked my uncle, “Do you have any pictures
of Mom when she was little? Do I look like
her?”
Mom always told me that I was just like her,
and I’d be just as pretty as her when I got
older.
My uncle hesitated. “Take me home to your
mom first, then I’ll show you.”
I missed Mom so much.
I must have watched all the videos of her a
million times by now.
Seeing these new ones felt like a small gift.
く
I thought for a second and then led my uncle
home.
As soon as he walked inside, he frowned.
“Sarah! How long are you going to hide?
You’re not getting away from me!” he yelled
at the empty house.
The house was quiet, and no one answered.
I could feel my tears welling up.
Mom wasn’t here, she was gone.
He started turning the place upside down
again but still couldn’t find her.
