Daniel sat in his apartment at 2 AM, laptop open to Kassie’s f*******: page, scrolling through photos he’d already memorized. The latest post was from Emma’s first day at a new preschool—a carefully posed shot of her standing by their front door, wearing a purple backpack covered in butterfly patches and holding a sign that read “First Day of Preschool!”
The comments were full of heart emojis and congratulations from friends and family. “She’s getting so big!” “Such a smart cookie!” “Beautiful girl, just like her mama!”
No one mentioned the missing father. No one asked where Daniel was or why he wasn’t in the picture. After almost five years, his absence had become so normalized that it didn’t even warrant acknowledgment.
Five hours. He was five hours away from his daughter, far enough
