At my daughter’s graduation, a stranger handed me a cap and whispered, “Check the lining”—what I found inside made me run toward her in panic

and took in the rippling water.

The splash was small.

She smiled for a second and took in the rippling water.

Then she slipped her arm through mine.

“Come on,” she said. “We still have my graduation dinner.”

Note: This story is a work of fiction inspired by real events. Names, characters, and details have been altered. Any resemblance is coincidental. The continue reading …