THE LETTER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Thirteen years. That’s how long it had been since I last saw my daughter.
Thirteen years since my ex-wife took her and walked out of my life forever.
I tried to fight for her, I really did. But my ex—bitter and ruthless—filled her head with lies. I was the villain in a story she created, and eventually, my daughter, Sarah, stopped answering my calls. Then came the final blow—she and her new husband moved to another state, and I lost all trace of them.
Life didn’t get easier after that. I got sick, real sick. Surgery after surgery, hospital bills piling up, loneliness creeping in like an unwanted guest. I never remarried, never even considered it. My heart was stuck in the past, clinging to the pieces of the life I had lost.
Then, yesterday, something incredible happened.
I opened my mailbox and found an envelope. The handwriting was messy, like a child’s, and on the front, it said:
“For Grandpa Steve.”
I froze.
Grandpa?
With trembling hands, I tore open the letter. The very first line made my heart stop.
“Hi, Grandpa! My name is Adam. I’m your 6-year-old grandson. Unfortunately, you’re the only family I have left…”
I had to sit down. My eyes blurred as I read the rest of the letter.
“Mom always talked about you, but she never got the chance to find you. She said you were a good man. She missed you.”
“She told me if anything ever happened to her, I should try to find you. So I did. And now… I need you.”
My chest tightened.
Something happened to Sarah?
The letter continued, shaky and innocent, but with words that shattered me.
“Mommy went to heaven a few weeks ago. The man she married wasn’t nice to her. I don’t want to stay with him. Please, Grandpa, can I come live with you?”
I couldn’t breathe.
Tears streamed down my face as I clutched the letter. My daughter… my little Sarah… she was gone.
And now, her son—my grandson—was out there, alone, waiting for me.
I had to find him.