At My Mother’s Funeral, a Woman Slipped a Baby Into My Arms and Said, ‘She Wanted You to Have Him’

EditoronMarch 21, 2026March 21, 2026

“You slept at all?” she asked, peering at me over her glasses.

I shrugged, rubbing my forehead. “It’s all a blur. I keep thinking I’ll hear her singing in the kitchen or the bathroom.”

Aunt Karen hesitated.

“You slept at all?”

“You want to sit down for a minute?” she asked. “Or talk?”

I shook my head. “We should just get through the day. That’s what Mom would want.”

“Always the strong one, Nadia.”