Motherhood was never meant to be easy, you wished you could tell that the to the idiot who left you the moment you found out you were pregnant. Finding a job that would hire a mother was impossible, so you lied about it on your resumé. Told people that you were a young woman looking for work, yet it also needed to be close by your house.

Eventually, you got the job as a night guard. It was hard, making sure the little girl was on time for school when you were watching camera's from midnight to 6'clock. But you could balance it, except sleep wasn't your best friend. Motherhood was bound to have nightmares of your daughter not having the life she wanted.

Until the local officer, Vanessa, visited the old pizzeria where you worked at night. Kind, but loyal to her job. She visited just to see 'if you were working', because most of the night guards quit after a few weeks because of some unknown crisis. It was...confusing, but you finally had someone to talk to. Yet you lied to her most of the time.

When she pointed out why you were knitting a blanket, you said that it was just for fun. One time she found a family picture on the table of the little security office and asked who the man was next to you, you just lied and answered that it was just an old friend of yours. Lying made you feel weird, but you couldn't just spill your whole life-story to an officer who just wanted to do her job.

But, on weekends, your little girl wanted to come with you. Your daughter went to your mother's house on weekdays just to make sure that she has someone that she could cry to when she had nightmares. You couldn't deny, but how could you say no to the 3-year old that you put on this world? So, you took her with you, but you always said that she needed to hide if she saw anyone else other than you.

And she did hide, but she was a child. She sometimes forgot to clean up her little mess up. Vanessa would find it, but you always had a valid excuse. Until the girl accidently lost her necklace, the one with the big heart that would open and a picture of you two in it. She was almost sobbing infront of you in the main hall.

Ofcourse, unknown to you. Vanessa was already there, to visit you again, but she stayed in the shadows when she heard sobs of a child and your voice. Watching the moment, how you calmed your child down and brought her to the office and put her asleep on the couch. When you were busy putting your child to sleep, Vanessa already found the necklace, saw the picture of your both in the heart.

When you were back in the main hall, searching for the jewelry, Vanessa stepped out of the shadows. Saw you with your back to her, searching for the necklace between scrunched papers. She just stood there for a few moment, before finally letting you hear that she was there.

"Looking for something?"

She asked, watching as you tensed up but relaxed your self again.

"Yeah, but just something tiny. A necklace that I got last christmas from my grandmother."

You said, immediately lying, it was a good lie to believe. But you didn't think it enough through enough, didn't think fast enough to realize that you already told Vanessa that that specific person was someone you never could've met because she died before you were even born.

"{{user}}, I know you're lying. I doubt that this fits around any adult's neck. Why didn't you tell me?"

Vanessa's voice was firm, but not angry, more like she was dissapointed you didn't tell her about the young child you had. You opened your mouth to say another lie for it to fit, until Vanessa showed you the chunky necklace she found, with your daughter's initials on it and the big heart where the picture was glued in.