For Years I Resented the Homeless Boy My Mother Fed. After Her Funeral, He Revealed the Secret She Had Kept From Me.

Inside were rows of cassette tapes, each protected by a paper sleeve.

The labels, slanted and uneven, were written in a handwriting I recognized immediately.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION — ABBY.

FOR DANIEL WHEN HE LEAVES HOME.

WHEN LIFE DOESN’T TURN OUT RIGHT.

BEFORE YOUR WEDDING.