After breaking up with Liam Sterling, I found out I was three months pregnant. I raised our little Lily all by myself for five years. But the sheer exhaustion of working three jobs finally caught up with me. I suffered a massive stroke and died suddenly. Now, I was floating in mid-air. And suddenly, I saw him. Liam Sterling, who was now a Hollywood superstar. He was knocking on my front door. 01 It took a long time for the door to open. "Who are you?" The one opening the door was my daughter, Lily. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the deadbolt, which took her a while. She looked warily at my ex-boyfriend—her biological father, Liam Sterling. Seeing it wasn't me, Lily immediately tried to close the door. Liam caught the frame with his hand. He frowned. "Where is Emma Hayes?" Lily thought for a moment, looked up at him, and gave a bright smile. "You're looking for my mommy! Mommy isn't home." "She's at work." Liam's face darkened. He asked again, "Where is your dad?" It's you! You are Lily's father! I screamed frantically from mid-air, but he couldn't hear me. Lily tilted her head. "My daddy is far, far away making lots of money. Mommy said when he makes enough money, he'll come pick us up." Liam's frown deepened. Suddenly, he let out a self-deprecating laugh. He muttered to himself in a low voice. "Heh, I must be out of my mind. I actually thought you'd wait for me." With that, he turned to leave. But he suddenly stopped. He asked for Lily's full name. "Lily. Lily Hayes." "Mommy says I'm her little flower, so my name is Lily." Lily said it with so much pride. Liam's eyes searched her small face. It was as if he was looking for some kind of proof. But in the end, he didn't say anything. He stepped into his black stretch SUV. I looked at the car driving away into the distance, screaming. Don't go, Liam! If you leave, what is our Lily going to do? She's only five! How is she supposed to survive all alone? I turned back to my daughter, who was blinking her big eyes at the dust kicked up by the departing car, and coaxed her softly. Be a good girl, Lily. Go chase after Daddy. Mommy is gone now, he's the only one who can take care of you. But Lily couldn't hear me either. She just muttered, "What a weird man." And she closed the door. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to slap myself across the face. Why didn't I tell Lily who her father was sooner? Why didn't I ever show her a picture of him? This was all my fault. It didn't matter that I was dead. But my daughter... what was going to happen to her? 02 Lily swung her little legs from the chair, waiting for me to come home. The last light of the sunset faded. The sky grew dark. Normally, I would have been home by now. Because I knew Lily was terrified of the dark. But I was already dead. My coworker, Sarah, had just received the notification at the hospital that my resuscitation had failed. She was told to contact my next of kin. But when she opened my phone, she found the "Family" section of my contacts completely empty. However, everyone at work knew I had a child. So, that night, the phone in our tiny apartment rang. Lily ran toward the phone on her little legs. "Hello?" That sweet, innocent voice brought tears to my coworker's eyes. She didn't know how to explain to a little girl that her mother had passed away. That she was never coming back. "Is that you, Mommy?" Lily's voice was full of excitement. "Are you working late again? It's okay, I'm fine. I'm not hungry at all. I just ate the muffins Mommy bought." She patted her round little belly as she spoke. "Lily... your mommy... she just passed away." Lily asked, confused: "Where is passed away? Is it far? It's okay, Mommy will definitely take me with her." Once, because of a last-minute schedule change, I had to travel out of state for work. I couldn't bear to leave Lily home alone. So I took her with me. It was Lily's first time leaving our city. Sitting on the Amtrak train, she pointed at the scenery outside the window, thrilled. So right now, Lily still thought I just went on another business trip. Hearing her innocent reply, Sarah let out a heavy sigh. She didn't know what else to say. She could only hang up the phone. In the end, she represented the company and sent my body to be cremated. All that was left of me was a single urn of ashes. 03 That night felt agonizingly long. It was the first time I hadn't come home. Every so often, Lily would run to the front door, peeking out to see if I was there. But quickly, the darkness of the hallway would scare her back inside. She ran back and forth like this countless times. Unable to fight off her exhaustion. She finally fell asleep hugging the teddy bear I had bought her. Dawn broke. She jolted awake. She hurriedly ran to the door again. Seeing I still wasn't back. A flash of disappointment crossed her face. But soon, she comforted herself. "It's okay. Mommy is just really busy. She'll be back soon." Having eaten almost nothing the night before, her stomach began to rumble. She could only eat another muffin to fill the void. Then she opened a carton of milk I had bought. Mimicking what I used to do, she wanted to heat up some water on the stove to warm the milk. "Mommy said I can't drink it cold, or my tummy will hurt." As she spoke, she held a heavy pot filled with water. But her hands were so small, how could she possibly lift it? I was frantic, screaming at her to stop. But I was completely powerless. Standing on a stool, just as she tried to heave the pot onto the stove burner... Her grip slipped. Water splashed everywhere. The heavy metal pot crashed down right onto her tiny foot. Instantly, the top of her foot swelled up. My heart ached as if it were being carved out with a knife. But at the same time, I was so thankful the water hadn't been boiling yet. Lily began to whimper softly. Quickly, she hugged her foot and blew on it. "Mommy isn't here. I'll blow on it myself, and it won't hurt anymore." She wiped her tears away. She dragged the stool over. She sat right in front of the living room, staring unblinkingly at the front door. "I won't cry. When Mommy comes back, she'll tell me how brave I am." Lily was so well-behaved. So mature. So mature that it shattered my heart. How I wished she would resent me right now, blame me for being a terrible mother. But she just sat there, waiting so patiently for me to come home. 04 Two hours later. A car pulled up in front of our apartment building. Sarah knocked on the door. Lily was overjoyed, thinking it was me. She ran as fast as she could. But she tripped and took a hard fall. Her little leg was scraped by the sharp edge of the doorframe. But she just frowned, quickly scrambled back up, and opened the door. When she saw it wasn't me. Her emotions finally broke. She burst into loud, heartbroken sobs. "Mommy... why isn't Mommy back yet?" "My foot is swollen, and my leg hurts so much. I've been so brave!" "But Mommy still isn't back. Mommy doesn't care about me anymore." "Does Mommy not love me anymore?" Lily cried so hard she could barely breathe. Hearing her, my heart shattered into a million pieces. ... Sarah hurriedly comforted her. She found the first-aid kit in the bathroom, disinfected Lily's scrape, and put a Band-Aid on it. After making sure she was okay. Sarah brought in my urn and the belongings cleared from my desk at work. Lily looked confused. But then she spotted a photograph I had kept on my desk. It was from a recent trip to the amusement park. In the photo, I was holding Lily, and we were both laughing brightly. She recognized me. She asked, "Miss, are these my mommy's things? Where did my mommy go?" Sarah fought back her tears. She pointed at the small urn. "Your mommy... she's inside here. If you miss her, you can hug it and talk to it." Lily violently shook her head. "How could my mommy turn into a jar? She's not a wizard, she can't just magically shapeshift! You're lying." She pulled my photograph tightly into her arms. "This is my mommy." She pressed a loud kiss to the photo. And smiled sweetly. Sarah let out a heavy sigh and placed my urn high up on a shelf. Then she looked around the empty apartment. She asked, "Where is your daddy? Are you all alone here?" Lily lowered her head. "Mommy said Daddy went far away to make money. I haven't seen him since I was born." Sarah looked at her in disbelief. "Do you have any other family? Grandparents? Aunts or uncles?" Lily shook her head. Sarah couldn't hold back her tears any longer and pulled Lily into a tight hug. "You poor, sweet girl." "You're so little... how could your mother bear to leave you all alone in this world?" Lily argued back. "Mommy didn't leave me! Mommy loves me the most!" Sarah pressed a debit card into Lily's small hand. "This is the compensation money from your mommy's company. There's $30,000 on this card. The PIN is 0000. Keep it safe. Don't ever lose it." Lily nodded seriously. She gripped the card tightly in her fist. Because we were so poor, I had taught Lily from a young age that money was important and had to be guarded carefully. Now, she had etched that lesson into her heart. After figuring out the next steps. Sarah made a call to the local child protective services. They were an organization specifically for children with nowhere else to go. My heart swelled with profound gratitude. Floating in the air, I bowed deeply to my coworker. Thank you. If she could get into a safe children's home, at least my little Lily would survive. 05 When the social workers arrived to pick Lily up. She refused to go. She clung to the doorframe, wailing at the top of her lungs. "You're kidnappers! Don't take me! I'm not worth any money!" The social workers didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The lead woman crouched down. She spoke to her gently: "We aren't kidnappers, sweetie. We're taking you to a new home." Lily frowned. She told them very seriously. "This is my home! If you take me away, Mommy won't be able to find me when she comes back. She'll be so worried!" I covered my mouth, tears streaming down my face. The social workers exchanged a look, their own eyes growing damp. They gently coaxed her: "Be a good girl, Lily. Your mommy is the one who asked us to take you there. She had to go on a very long trip for work, and she can't come back just yet. She asked us to take care of you until she does." "Plus, there are lots of other kids just like you there. You won't be lonely." Lily listened carefully. She blinked her big eyes at them. "Really?" "Of course." Only then did Lily slowly let go of the doorframe. But right before getting into the car. Lily ran back inside the apartment. She grabbed the teddy bear I bought her and the photograph of us. She held them tight against her chest. As the car drove away. It was Lily's first time traveling so far with strangers. The bravery she had forced herself to show earlier... Shattered. Fear and panic washed over her all at once. She finally broke down sobbing. "Mommy, I promise I'll be good. I'll be so good." "You have to come pick me up soon, okay?" I drifted behind the car, floating, following. Wherever Lily went, I went. But she couldn't see me. And I couldn't hold her.
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