My brother.”
The word hung between us in the cold afternoon air.
For several seconds, I could not speak.
The park around us continued as if the world had not just split open beneath my shoes. Leaves dragged across the gravel path. A golden retriever barked near the pond. Somewhere behind the trees, a child laughed as if laughter were still a harmless sound.But Noah was staring at his feet.
At the blanket covering his legs.
At the toes that had moved when the strange little girl touched his hand.
His lips parted.
“Dad,” he whispered, “did you see?”
I had seen.
That was the problem.
