2/ I Was Curious Why My Parents Kept an Old Videotape in the Safe until I Saw What Was on It — Story of the Day

Back home, Lucy dusts off the VCR and presses play. Grainy footage flickers to life, revealing her younger parents, full of joy and laughter. Then, a child appears on screen—a girl who looks strikingly like Lucy but is being called by another name: Chloe. Panic grips her as questions cascade through her mind. Who is Chloe? Why does her mother look at that girl the way Lucy always longed to be seen? Determined to uncover the truth,

Lucy rushes to the nursing home where her mother now resides. As she walks through the halls, the receptionist greets her with unexpected warmth, revealing that her mother has spoken of her often. Entering the room, she finds both her parents shocked at her sudden appearance. With the tape burning in her memory and a lifetime of confusion pressing against her chest, Lucy finally says the words that have waited years to be spoken: “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”