And my daughter, a thousand miles away, kept telling me not to worry.

Chapter 4 — May 6th

My assignment was scheduled to end in June.

But in early May, my relief physician arrived ahead of schedule, and I made a decision that I will be grateful for every day of my life: I did not call ahead.

I wanted to surprise Chloe.

I wanted to walk in and see her face.

On May 6th, I arrived home around noon, and let myself in with my key, and the moment the door opened, I knew something was wrong.

The house was eerily, wrongly silent.