He stared at Ethan, then at his daughter, then back again, like the truth was trying to force its way into the open and he wasn\u2019t ready to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily looked confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was taken away?\u201dEthan lowered his eyes, suddenly afraid he had said something wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mom only tells me that when she\u2019s sad,\u201d he said softly. \u201cShe says my sister had a yellow blanket and a little flower clip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily slowly reached up and touched the blue ribbon in her hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her father swallowed hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your mother\u2019s name, Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That name hit him like a blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years ago, Anna had cried in a hospital room, begging him not to let them separate the babies. And he had believed the lie they told him after \u2014 that one child had died, and the other had been too weak to save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now one little girl stood at his side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And one little boy sat at the fountain with the same eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily looked up at him, her voice small and scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaddy\u2026 why are you crying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He couldn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that moment, a woman in a work apron came rushing across the park, breathless and panicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEthan!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy stood up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She reached him, then stopped cold when she saw the man beside Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her face drained of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper bag slipped from Ethan\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Lily looked between them all, her innocent voice shaking the silence apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMom said I used to have a twin in my dreams,\u201d Ethan whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Lily, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes, asked the question that made both adults break inside:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaddy\u2026 is he the one you lost?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He stared at Ethan, then at his daughter, then back again, like the truth was trying to force its way into the open and he wasn\u2019t ready to see it. Lily looked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n