The girl stopped singing when she saw the woman crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment, she looked more scared of the tears than she had been of the shouting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid I do something wrong?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman shook her head, but she couldn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She took the cassette with both hands, like it might disappear if she breathed too hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girl looked toward the police station door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman\u2019s knees almost gave out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy daughter\u2019s name was Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girl stepped back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo. I don\u2019t have a mom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She opened the handbag again and pulled out an old photograph hidden behind the lining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A little girl in pink pajamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sitting beside a cassette player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smiling with the same eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The homeless girl stared at it, her lips trembling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman covered her mouth, sobbing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou vanished eight years ago. They told me you were gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A police officer came outside, but stopped when he saw the tape in the woman\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girl whispered, \u201cThe woman who raised me said I was found near a bus stop. She said this song was the only thing I remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rich woman slowly reached toward her, then stopped, afraid to frighten her again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI accused you,\u201d she cried. \u201cAnd you came back carrying the only sound I had left of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girl looked at her for a long, shaking second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she sang the next line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the woman fell to her knees, because it was the lullaby she had written for her baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The girl stopped singing when she saw the woman crying. For a moment, she looked more scared of the tears than she had been of the shouting. \u201cDid I do something wrong?\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n