He Hid His Wife and Child, Then Made Me Keep His House

On the evening of the Feast of San Valentino, I showed up outside the row house where my soldier kept his mother, flowers in hand, ready to surprise him. Instead I found a coworker's child standing alone outside the shuttered corner store below.

The little boy's nose was red from crying. He tugged at my coat and sobbed, "I want my daddy. He said he'd be right back after buying Mama a strawberry cake."

My heart melted. I crouched down to comfort him, wiping his tears while searching his little jacket for some name, some way to reach whoever had left him. That's when a photo slipped out.