I was still half asleep when the knocking started.
Loud. Repetitive. Urgent.
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
Noah didn’t move. He was still asleep beside me, breathing evenly, completely unaware.
I pulled myself out of bed, threw on a sweater, and walked to the door, slightly annoyed… but also uneasy.
Something didn’t feel right.
When I opened it, I stopped cold.
A man stood there.
Tall. Well-dressed. Around sixty. The kind of presence that makes you straighten your posture without realizing it.
But it wasn’t how he looked.
It was his eyes.
Serious. Heavy. Like he had been carrying something for a very long time.
“Good afternoon,” he said.
“It’s… morning,” I replied, confused.
He nodded slightly, like it didn’t matter.
“I know this is unexpected,” he said carefully. “But I’ve been searching for your husband for years.”
My chest tightened.
