: Echoes

e was qu

ny, Mr. Wiggles. Aiden stood in the hall and looked at her, his heart aching at the peaceful innocence reflected on

his gaze drifting to the pictures taped to the fridge. They were all pictures of Emily laughing, smiling, growing older. Aiden and Emily at the zoo. Emily with her birthday cake. Emily on her first day of kind

ra

ugh his head like a whi

llections snuck up unbidden, unexpected. Like tonight, after seeing Emily's emp

losed h

Yea

tric residency, worn out and red-eyed from long shifts and sleepless nights. Sarah was a visiting medic

nitially about the usual things the exorbitant coffee prices, the never-ending rotation

ing with the babies gently, her voice low and gentle. Aiden watched her fr

n her tiny apartment with takeout containers and giggles. They both understood the insanity of hospital lif

, placed his hand on her belly, and promised her everything: love, support, and a future. They'd moved into a sm

ed after Emily'

tion postpartum depression, the stress of new motherhood. But the distance grew, expanded. She would be gone for hours, even da

nding in the doorway of their bedro

ir?" he asked, his voic

ack to him. "I don't know wh

have a daughter. Don't you

r eyes. "But I'm drowning here. I can't breathe. I thou

doing all this time

lie. But it als

ises to return. A note on the kitchen counter an

sen

te still folded in his wallet, the ink fad

de

m not. I love her I do. But I don't know how to be what she needs. Perhaps someday I'

ar

at Sarah's departure had made him stronger, more motivated. That raising Emily on his own was a blessing in

contest it. She signed the papers with a barely spoken word. It

ows. Aiden felt it in the way Emily would sit and stare out the window, w

ommy p

ommy l

Sarah had left, she had once held their da

him out of his daydream. Aiden got

on the couch, rubbi

her. "Hey, sweet

a bad

e he

chest like a kitten seeking warmth. Aiden wr

t your dream,

nd you anywhere. And everyone else had th

rling in his chest. "You're neve

into him. "Do you th

pau

And I think, wherever she is

not really. But it

weighted in his arms. Aiden held her for some time,

ed perfect. He was just trying to build a life one

is arms, a daughter born of love and grie

he past would nev

ther wo