Michael and I whispered her name—Eliza—like a fragile secret we carried together. But time didn’t heal us. It changed us.
Eventually, Michael left. Maybe he couldn’t bear my grief. Or maybe he couldn’t face his own.
And so it became just me and Junie… and the quiet shadow of the daughter I never got to know.
Junie’s first day of first grade felt like a new beginning.
She walked up the sidewalk with confidence, her pigtails bouncing, while I stood there hoping she’d make friends.
I spent the day cleaning—anything to keep my nerves in check.
“Relax, Phoebe,” I muttered to myself. “June-bug will be fine.”
That afternoon, the front door burst open before I could even put the sponge down.
Junie ran in, flushed and breathless, her backpack half unzipped.
“Mom! Tomorrow you have to pack one more lunchbox!”
I blinked. “One more? Why, sweetheart? Didn’t I pack enough?”
She rolled her eyes like I should already understand.
“For my sister.”
A chill ran through me.
“Your… sister? Honey, you know you’re my only girl.”
Junie shook her head stubbornly.
“No, Mom. I’m not. I met my sister today. Her name’s Lizzy.”
I forced myself to stay calm. “Lizzy? Is she new?”
“Yes! She sits right next to me! And she looks like me—exactly like me. Just her hair is parted on the other side.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does she like for lunch?” I asked quietly.
“She said peanut butter and jelly. But she’s never had it at school before. She said she liked yours better because you use more jelly.”
I swallowed hard.
“Is that so?”
Junie’s face lit up. “Want to see a picture? I used the camera like you told me!”
I had given her a small pink disposable camera for her first day—something fun, something to remember.
She handed it to me proudly.
“Ms. Kelsey helped take it. Lizzy was shy. She even asked if we were sisters!”
I flipped through the photos.
And there they were.
Two little girls standing side by side.
Same eyes. Same curls. Even the same freckles beneath their left eyes.
My hands trembled.
“Did you know her before today?”
“Nope. But she said we should be friends since we look the same. Can she come over sometime?”
“Maybe,” I said softly. “We’ll see.”
That night, I sat staring at the photo, my heart racing—hope and fear colliding inside me.
Deep down, I knew this was only the beginning.
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