My daughter smiles at me in black and white from the photo frame.

Her blonde hair falls in soft waves, framing her lovely, oval face.

Her eyes sparkle, her skin is clear. At fourteen, she looks all grown up but fresh.

Radiant, healthy, happy. Completely natural.

I’d like to plaster this picture on a milk carton under the caption “Have You Seen This Child?”

She’s gone missing.

Six years later she’s been abducted, replaced by a stand-in whose patchy, bleached bangs obscure dull eyes, bad skin and the puffiness of the freshman fifteen.

This proxy child is slovenly and sullen, at least around us. Sightings of our missing daughter by friends in the outside world give us some glimmer of hope that she’s still alive and well.

Maybe this is what completely natural looks like at twenty. I try to trust that the vibrant girl in the picture is fine, but I can’t help worrying about what has become of her.

I hope she is safe. I hope she comes back to us.

By Lorrie Goldin

Labels: Lorrie Goldin, teenager

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# posted by Writing Mamas Salon @ 12:01 AM