When My Daughter Was Critically Ill, They Were in Love

My daughter always loved the wild chrysanthemums on the mountain. She said they symbolized freedom.

So, I took her ashes up there. It was a quiet, secluded spot. I set the urn aside and went to pick some flowers.

I only stepped away for a few minutes, but when I came back, the urn was gone.

Panic set in. I dropped the flowers and searched frantically. I finally found the urn beneath a big tree, with two familiar figures standing nearby.

As I got closer, I saw that Yara was holding my daughter’s ashes.

“Cody, do you think Bean would like it here?” Yara asked softly.

Cody answered gently, “If you picked it, Yara, she’d love it.”

Yara nodded, and then, to my horror, she started pouring out the ashes and replacing them with the ashes of a dead teddy bear!

My heart sank. I hadn’t even had a chance to properly memorialize my daughter, and now her ashes were being desecrated!

I couldn’t let this go on. I screamed, “Stop it!”

I rushed over, grabbing the urn from Yara and tossing the teddy bear’s ashes away. I knelt down, carefully putting my daughter’s ashes back into the urn.

Yara’s face turned red with anger. “What are you doing? I just found a box that no one wanted. Why are you throwing away my Bean?”

Her words only fueled my rage. I slowly stood up, then slapped her hard across the face.

Yara fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

“Cody, is this the woman you found after I left? You said she was understanding, but she’s just a violent maniac!”

“My face hurts so much. Bean, my Bean… it’s so unfair!”

As Yara’s complaints stirred the pot, Cody’s face darkened.

Clearly frustrated, he said, “Riley, what do you want? Are you really making a fuss over a worthless box? I’ve found the best doctor for our daughter. She’ll be fine soon. Why do you keep causing trouble for Yara? Did she do something to you? Or are you just jealous and looking for a fight?”

My heart broke at his words. How could he be so heartless? When our daughter was fighting for her life, where was his concern?

I had no patience left for his hollow sympathy. I crouched down, continuing to gather my daughter’s ashes.

But Yara wouldn’t let it go. She demanded to return the slap I’d given her.

Cody, with a dark expression, said, “Riley, you need to apologize to Yara right now and then go back to taking care of our daughter. For her sake, I’m willing to overlook this.”

I let out a harsh laugh. “You’re talking about our daughter? When she was suffering from pneumonia, you ran off to be with this woman and left her alone at home. Where was your concern then?”

Cody ignored my words, acting like he had all the answers. “With your attitude, it’s no wonder our daughter turned out this way. You’ve clearly harmed her.”

“I’ve decided that as soon as she’s out of the hospital, we’re getting a divorce. She can’t stay with you any longer.”

“And you need to apologize to Yara today!”

I scoffed. “And what if I don’t?”

“Then you leave me no choice!”

Cody yanked me by the arm, while Yara grabbed the urn from my hands. I tried to rush at her, but Cody held me back.

Yara, with a triumphant look, dumped the ashes out of the urn and replaced them with the ashes of the teddy bear.

Cody stared at me with cold contempt. “You shouldn’t even go to the hospital. With your attitude, you might just end up harming our daughter.”

Just then, Cody’s phone rang. He answered with a strained smile.

“Dr. Clark, hello. What’s going on?”

Dr. Clark’s voice was clear on the line. “Mr. Luke, I’ve checked all the hospitals in the city, but there’s no record of your daughter being admitted. Are you sure she’s in the hospital?”

There was a brief pause. “Also, I found a child of similar age who was recently cremated. Her name is Alice Luke.”