everything you thought you knew.It was around 3 p.m. when the bell above the door chimed, and a man walked in with two kids in tow. The guy looked rough. Dark circles under his eyes, his beard all scruffy, wearing clothes that had seen better days. The kids weren’t much better off. The little girl’s hair was messy, and the boy’s shirt was covered in what looked like yesterday’s lunch. My co-worker, Jen, seated them at a table near the window.As I delivered a steaming latte to table 12, I felt someone was watching me. It was the same man staring at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle. I shrugged it off thinking he might be just one of those creepy men. But then something weird happened. He ordered a pulled beef sandwich and coffee for himself, but nothing for the kids. They just sat there, staring at him as he ate. Who brings kids to a café and doesn’t feed them? I thought.I wanted to march over and give him a piece of my mind. But then I caught myself. Who was I to judge? Maybe they had already eaten. Maybe they wanted to eat something else.I tried to focus on my work, but I could feel his eyes following me. I can’t describe how uncomfortable it was. Then, as I was clearing a nearby table, I saw him hand a folded piece of paper to the little girl.I watched as he pointed in my direction and said, “Give this to her.” My heart skipped a beat. What was going on? I pretended not to notice and kept working, but my hands were shaking as I stacked the plates. What happened next was even stranger. The man got up, left some cash on the table, and walked out without the kids.At first, I thought maybe he’d stepped out for a smoke or to take a call.But five minutes passed. Then ten. The kids just sat there, quiet as mice, staring at their hands. That’s when I couldn’t take it anymore. I approached their table, crouching down to their level. “Hi there,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “When is your dad coming back?” The little girl looked up at me with big, brown eyes. Without a word, she held out the folded paper. As I took it, a weird sense of déjà vu washed over me. My fingers trembled as I unfolded it.”Oh my God,” I gasped when I read what was written on it. These are your kids. You have to take care of them. And below these words was an address scribbled hastily. I stared at the note, then at the kids, then back at the note. Was this some kind of sick joke? But as I looked at their little faces, something deep inside me stirred. A strange familiarity I couldn’t explain. “I’ll be right back,” I managed to say to the kids.I stumbled to the back office where my boss, Mike, was doing paperwork.”Mike, I… there’s an emergency,” I said. “I need to leave. Right now.” He looked up with his eyebrows furrowed. “Adriana, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I shook my head, unable to explain. I don’t know why I couldn’t speak anything. It was like someone had sealed my mouth shut. At that point, I really thought Mike wouldn’t let me leave.But to my surprise, he nodded. “Go. Take care of whatever it is. We’ll manage.”What? I thought. Am I dreaming? Mike wasn’t usually this understanding. I mean, he wasn’t one of those understanding bosses that only exist in a parallel universe. Anyway, I quickly thanked him and returned to the kids’ table. “Hey,” I said softly. “How about we go for a little drive?” They nodded silently and followed me out to my beat-up Corolla.As I buckled them in, my mind raced. What was I doing? Taking strange kids to a random address? But something in my gut told me I had to see this through.I quickly got behind the wheel and punched the address into my phone. It showed me a house in a neighborhood about 30 minutes away. “Alright,” I smiled at the kids. “Let’s go.”Hundreds of questions popped into my mind as I drove towards the address. Who were these kids? Why did that note say they were mine? And why did looking at them make my heart ache in a way I couldn’t explain? Little did I know that the unknown destination I was heading to would answer all of my questions. Soon, we reached a small, unassuming house on a quiet street. I could feel beads of sweat trickling down my temples as I parked my car there.”Wait here,” I told the kids, but they unbuckled and followed me anyway. As I came closer to the house, I noticed that the front door was slightly ajar. “Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone here?” Silence. “Hello?” I tried again. Silence. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open. The house was eerily quiet, but it felt familiar. Toys were scattered across the living room floor. Family photos lined the walls. And then I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.Right in the middle of the photo frames was a picture of a happy family of four. A husband, wife, and two kids. But the crazy thing was that the woman in the photo was me. Me with the man from the café. Me holding a baby, with a little girl sitting on my lap. The same girl who handed me the note. We were all smiling, happy. My legs felt wobbly, and I immediately grabbed the back of a chair to steady myself.”How… how is this possible?” I whispered. “I don’t remember any of this. Who are these people? Why am I in these photos?” Just then, a knock at the door made me jump. I froze, torn between hiding and answering. Then, taking a deep breath, I walked to the door, held the doorknob, closed my eyes, and opened the door.When I opened my eyes, an older woman stood before me. Her eyes widened, then filled with tears. “Adriana, darling,” she whispered, reaching out to touch my face. “You’ve come home. You’ve finally come home!” I stepped back, overwhelmed.”I… I don’t understand,” I stammered. The woman ushered us inside as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The kids ran to her, hugging her legs. Feeling clueless, I watched her move to the kitchen, putting on a kettle for tea, chatting away as if we did this every day.Finally, after what felt like hours, she sat across from me, hands wrapped around a steaming mug. “I’m Margaret,” she said gently. “I’m your mother, Adriana.” I shook my head. “That’s impossible. I don’t… I don’t have a family.”Margaret’s eyes filled with sadness. “Two years ago, you were in a car accident. It left you with severe amnesia. When you woke up in the hospital, you couldn’t remember anything. Not your husband Tyler, not your kids Katie and Luke, not even me.”As she spoke the children’s names, she gestured to the little girl and boy who now sat quietly on the floor, coloring. “You ran away from the hospital,” Margaret continued. “We searched everywhere, but it was like you’d vanished. Then, a month ago, Tyler spotted you working at that café. He was afraid if he approached you directly, you’d run again. So, he came up with this plan…”Suddenly, fragments of memories began to surface in my mind. The screech of tires. The crunch of metal. The overwhelming panic that had made me flee.”I… I remember the accident,” I whispered. “The fear. And then… nothing. Just a big blank space where my past should be.” Then, I looked at Katie and Luke. They were my children. The missing pieces of my life’s puzzle. Suddenly, I understood why my tiny apartment had never felt like home, why I had always felt incomplete. A few minutes later, the front door opened, and the man from the café entered. It was Tyler, my husband.As our eyes met, a flood of memories washed over me. Our first date. Our wedding day. The births of our children. I suddenly remembered everything. He approached slowly as if he was afraid I’d bolt. But when he wrapped his arms around me, I didn’t push him away. Instead, I found myself hugging him back, breathing in his familiar scent. For the first time in two years, I felt whole. “Welcome home, Adriana,” Tyler whispered as he gently rubbed his hands on my back. “You’re finally back.”I spent the next few weeks reconnecting with my family, slowly piecing together the fragments of my forgotten life. Tyler, Margaret, and the kids stood by me and supported me in every way possible.I still have a lot to remember and so much to rebuild, but I’m grateful that Tyler left that note for me that day and brought me back to my kids.
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