My eyes.
I stopped breathing.
Darius stood slowly.
The girl looked at Simone.
“I thought you said to stay with Aunt Rebecca.”
“I know, baby.”
Then the girl looked at me.
Her expression changed.
Children notice resemblance faster than adults because they do not understand when they are supposed to pretend not to.
She stared openly.
So did I.
My knees weakened.
Darius whispered my name.
“Maya.”
I couldn’t move.
Because the little girl standing in front of me had my mother’s chin.
My grandmother’s eyebrows.
And Darius’s unmistakable gray-green eyes.
She looked more like me than my own son did.
“What is her name?”
I whispered.
Simone wiped her face.
“Leah.”
The world tilted.
“Why does she look like us?”
Darius said nothing.
I turned on him.
“Why does she look like us?”
He finally answered.
“Because we believe she’s ours.”
I stared at him.
