26/06/2026
Who are you? the woman asked me.
I told her my name. I told her I was the kid she carried to daycare when my parents worked double shifts. Her eyes changed fast. Marcus?she said. I nodded.
I started searching for her after my dad got sick last year. He kept asking if I remembered the woman who held our family together when money was tight. That pushed me. I realized I never thanked her. So I pulled old school papers, church lists, and any number I could find.
One woman finally recognized the name Linda Brooks. She said Miss Linda was still in the same neighborhood, still helping neighbors even with her bad knees. I got in my car the next morning and drove across the country.
When she hugged me on that porch, it felt like I fixed a missing piece of my life.
