Every Year He Planted Sunflowers for His Twin Sister—Until One Morning, One Flower Held a Small White Box

in the flat, unforgiving light of day. My mother was the one who said it first.

“Where is Lily’s birthmark?”

Everything in me went completely quiet. I took the picture from Patrick and studied it harder, my chest tightening. Lily had carried a small crescent-shaped birthmark near her collarbone her entire short life. This girl in the photo had none.