I remembered it
Of course.
I had heard the nurse confirm it.
The woman checked the identification bracelet the baby was wearing on his ankle.
My name was there.
The name of Caleb
Our hospital number
Everything coincided
“That means it’s yours,” the nurse said carefully.
Caleb seemed even more scared.
“I know what I saw.”
I stretched out my arms.
“The lady.”
She placed the baby against my chest.
It was warm and peaceful.
She was not evidence
She was not a mistake.
She was someone’s daughter.
And somehow that made everything more terrifying.
“Call the nurse in charge.”
Minutes later, a woman named Denise arrived with the nurse in charge of the delivery.
Caleb explained everything
Denise looked towards the nurse.
“Do you remember the birthmark?”
“Yeah.”
Where?
“Left side. Near the collarbone.”
The room fell into complete silence.
I looked at Denise.
“Did my daughter leave this room?”
“For routine evaluation.”
“Were there other newborns there?”
The nurse hesitated
“Another one, I think.”
You think?
“There were a lot of people.”
Denise went out into the hallway.
A few minutes later, I heard her say something outside the room.
“No one moves any of the babies until we have verified everything.”
Any baby
Caleb sat next to me.
“There’s another baby.”
Ten minutes later, Denise returned accompanied by a hospital administrator.
“There was another baby girl in the assessment area,” she explained. “She was born shortly after yours.”
