Chapter 1: The Question That Broke the Silence
The boy didn't answer.
His lips trembled.
His fingers curled into small fists at his sides.
For several endless seconds, only the distant sound of traffic filled the narrow alley.
Then, barely above a whisper, he spoke.
"I'm sorry..."
"I thought... you were my mom."
The words pierced her heart.
Emily crouched beside him and gently picked up the fallen sandwich.
"Here," she said softly. "You can still eat."
The boy hesitated before accepting it.
His hands shook so badly that pieces of bread fell onto the pavement.
The woman couldn't stop watching him.
There was something painfully familiar about the way he tilted his head.
The way he rubbed his thumb against his fingers whenever he was nervous.
Leo used to do that.
She had noticed it ever since he was a toddler.
No.
Thousands of children had little habits like that.
Her mind was searching for similarities that didn't exist.
She couldn't survive another false hope.
"What is your name?" she asked carefully.
The boy stayed silent for several seconds.
"They call me Lucky."
"They?"
"The people at the shelter... and the men on the streets."
Her heart tightened.
"What was your name before that?"
He frowned.
"I... I don't remember."
The answer struck harder than any scream.
No child forgot his own name unless someone had taken it away.
Emily slowly reached into her purse.
She pulled out an old photograph.
It was faded from years of being unfolded and folded again.
A smiling little boy stood between his parents at the zoo, proudly holding a stuffed lion.
She held the picture toward him.
"Have you ever seen this little boy?"
Lucky stared at it.
His breathing stopped.
His eyes widened.
His hand reached toward the photograph before suddenly pulling back.
"My head..."
He pressed both hands against his temples.
"It hurts."
Fragments flashed across his mind.
A red balloon.
A woman laughing.
A golden retriever chasing him across green grass.
Someone calling...
"Leo!"
He gasped.
Then everything vanished again.
He looked up, terrified.
May you like
"I don't know why... but that picture feels like me."
The woman's knees nearly gave way.
