. I have to close my eyes, and while they’re closed, he does something…’ I froze. The next day, I opened the

My daughter, Emily, was six years old when she first said the sentence that kept me awake almost the entire night.

 

That afternoon, we were in the kitchen. I was making dinner while she sat at the table drawing.

Then, without even looking up, she said,

“Mom, did you know Grandpa and I have a game?”

I smiled.

 

My father, George, was seventy-six years old, and he and Emily were almost inseparable.

He picked her up from school, read her stories, and taught her how to plant flowers in the garden.

“What kind of game?” I asked.

Emily thought for a moment.

“When Grandpa gives me a bath, he tells me to close my eyes.”

The knife in my hand stopped. I turned toward her.

“Why?”

She shrugged.

“So we can play.”

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