PART 2 — The Words That Hurt
Lily searched everywhere.
The kitchen.
The living room.
The dining table.
Nothing.
Then she saw it.
The trash bin.
Her scrapbook was inside.
The ribbon was still tied.
But the cover was bent.
The pages were dirty.
The thing she had made with love had been treated like garbage.
For a moment, Lily couldn’t move.
Then slowly, she reached inside.
She pulled it out.
“Why is it here?”
Her small voice barely existed.
Then Vanessa appeared.
Holding a glass of wine.
She looked at the scrapbook like it was nothing.
“Oh.”
“That thing.”
Lily hugged it against her chest.
“It was my project.”
Vanessa smiled slightly.
“I saw it.”
Hope appeared in Lily’s eyes.
“Did you like it?”
The pause was too long.
Then Vanessa answered.
“It was childish.”
The word hurt more than yelling.
Lily blinked.
“But I made it for you and Dad.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“That’s sweet.”
“But we don’t need things like this.”
She touched the dirty cover.
“Sentimental clutter.”
Lily’s fingers tightened.
“You threw it away?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa’s voice remained calm.
“You should learn something, Lily.”
“Not everything you create is important.”
The little girl looked down.
“But it was a gift.”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
A colder voice appeared.
“Not everything you call a gift has value.”
Then she walked away.
Leaving Lily alone.
The house became silent again.
But this time…
the silence hurt.
Lily climbed the stairs slowly.
Holding the damaged scrapbook against her chest.
She didn’t cry.
Not yet.
She just felt something breaking inside.
An hour later, Daniel found her sitting on the floor of her room.
“Lily?”
She didn’t answer.
He walked closer.
“What happened?”
She held up the scrapbook.
“I made this.”
Daniel took it.
At first, he barely looked.
Then he saw the drawings.
The words.
The message.
His face changed.
“Where did you find this?”
Lily whispered:
“In the trash.”
Daniel froze.
“The trash?”
She nodded.
“Vanessa threw it away.”
The room went completely quiet.
May you like
And for the first time…
Daniel started wondering what he had missed.
