CHAPTER 1 – "Just Hold Her for Five Minutes..."
The old man sat alone in the same corner of the town square every morning.
His wheelchair creaked every time he shifted his weight. A half-finished cup of coffee rested beside him, growing colder by the minute. Most people walked past without even looking. To them, he was just another lonely old man waiting for time to run out.
Then everything changed.
A teenage boy came running through the crowded street, breathing hard, clutching a sleeping newborn wrapped in a white blanket.
His face was pale.
His eyes were filled with panic.
Without asking permission, he gently placed the baby into the old man's trembling arms.
"Please... just five minutes," he whispered.
"I have to stop someone before it's too late."
Before the old man could answer, the boy disappeared into the crowd.
People nearby immediately began whispering.
"Who leaves a baby with a complete stranger?"
"Call the police!"
"That old man can barely take care of himself!"
But the old man ignored every voice.
He looked down at the tiny sleeping girl.
For a brief second...
His hands stopped shaking.
Tears slowly filled his eyes as he carefully touched the baby's tiny fingers.
"They're exactly like hers..." he murmured.
Nobody understood what he meant.
Minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
The boy never came back.
Police cars suddenly surrounded the square.
An officer walked toward the old man.
"Sir... where did this baby come from?"
Before he could answer...
The baby opened her eyes...
And around her tiny wrist was an old silver bracelet.
The moment the old man saw it...
His face turned completely white.
"I buried this bracelet..."
May you like
he whispered.
"...twenty-three years ago."
