(nw) Their daughter vanished in 1990 at her graduation…

Surprisingly, he realized he’d never opened it before. In the painful days after her disappearance, neither he nor Nancy could bear to see Mary’s smiling face on those pages, captured alongside classmates who went on with their lives. John sat on the edge of the bed and opened the yearbook.

Its weight in his hands felt significant, as if he held an unexplored part of his daughter’s life. He flipped through the glossy pages until he found Mary’s senior portrait. Her smile, so bright and full of hope, pierced his heart with familiar pain.

“Twenty-two years,” he whispered, tracing his finger over her face. “I need to learn to keep you in my heart without this pain, sweetheart.” His eyes drifted to the photo next to Mary’s—her best friend, Emily Thompson.

Emily’s face brought back memories of sleepovers, dinners at their table, the girls laughing and whispering secrets. John realized he hadn’t heard anything about Emily in years. After Mary’s disappearance, she visited for a few months, but then the visits stopped.

Out of curiosity, John turned to the section with individual student profiles. Each graduate had a page with a short bio and personal quotes. He found Mary’s page and read her words, written when her whole life lay ahead.

“Thanks to Mom and Dad for always believing in me. To the teachers who pushed me to be better, and to my best friend Em. Don’t forget to return my copy of The Secret Garden. Old lady, love you forever.” John chuckled, the sound both sweet and bitter. The playful jab at Emily was so typical of their friendship.

He flipped to Emily’s profile and read about her dreams and ambitions. Her bio spoke of determination, chasing goals, and standing up for herself. John’s thoughts returned to the book Mary mentioned.

The Secret Garden had been her favorite since childhood. She collected different editions of it. Did Emily ever return it? He couldn’t recall seeing it among Mary’s things…