In the middle of my thoughts as I walked home from work, I heard a familiar tune that stopped me in my tracks. It was a song my daughter Lily and I used to sing together before she disappeared 17 years ago. I was shocked to hear this song. Who was singing it, and how did they know it?
I felt an odd pull as I got closer to the young woman singing. She looked like someone I knew. Her dark hair and smile made me think of my wife Cynthia. I knew I had to talk to her when I looked into her eyes.
As we talked, I found out that she had been singing this song since she was a kid, getting it from her adoptive parents. Still, she had a strong sense that something was missing and that her adopted parents were not telling her the whole story.
The pieces began to fit as we talked. She knew her name was Lily and that she was happy before everything changed. Lily was also the name of my daughter. I couldn’t believe it.
We both felt like we needed to be sure of the truth, so we set up a DNA test. What the test showed was true: Lily belonged to us, and we to her.
People soon came to our house to laugh, cry, and tell stories about the life they thought they had missed. Lily moved in with us for a short time, and every day felt like a small blessing.
That normal evening when an old song brought back together a family that had been split up will never leave my mind. It’s funny how life can bring back things we thought we’d lost forever.
