Every evening, I watched a little girl from my window. She stood there, petite and no older than five, waving at me with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. Who was she? What did she want?

I turned to my wife, Sandy, who was curled up on the couch with a book. “Babe, she’s there again. The girl I told you about.”

Sandy looked up, her brow furrowed. “The one always waving?”

I nodded, feeling a pang of sorrow. “There’s something in her eyes. It’s like she’s trying to tell me something.”

Sandy joined me at the window. “Maybe she’s just lonely. Have you tried waving back?”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t explain it. It feels like more than that. Like she’s calling out to me.”

Sandy’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “You’re scaring me a little. It’s just a kid waving.”

I forced a smile but couldn’t shake the feeling I was turning my back on something important.

That night, sleep eluded me. My dreams were haunted by the girl crying out for help. “Don’t leave me,” she sobbed. “Please, don’t go.”

I woke up in a cold sweat to Sandy’s concerned face. “Arnie? Are you okay?”

“I… I don’t know. That girl. She was crying.”

Sandy’s eyes widened. “Maybe we should talk to someone about this.”

“No,” I replied. “I need to do something.”

At dawn, I woke up exhausted. The aroma of pancakes wafted up from the kitchen, but even that couldn’t lift my spirits.

I trudged downstairs, where Sandy greeted me with tea. “Rough night?”

“Yeah, couldn’t shake those dreams.”

As I finished breakfast, I glanced at the window. My heart skipped when I saw the girl standing there, waving the moment our eyes met.

“That’s it,” I said. “I’m going to talk to her parents.”

Sandy’s eyes widened. “Are you sure about this?”

“I have to know. It feels like she needs me.”

The walk across the street felt like the longest journey of my life. I pressed the buzzer for the apartment.

After a long pause, a woman’s voice crackled through the intercom. “Yes? Who is it?”

“Hi, I’m Arnold from across the street. I wanted to talk to you about your daughter.”

The door buzzed open.

A woman stood in the doorway. My heart stopped. “Juliette?”

She nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. “Hello, Arnie. It’s been a long time.”

Before I could respond, the little girl appeared behind her. “DADDY?!” she chirped.

I gripped the doorframe. “What did she say?”

Juliette stepped aside. “Come inside. We have a lot to talk about.”

I sank onto the couch. “Do you remember that weekend at the lake house? Six years ago?”

“Before we broke up,” she said. “I was already pregnant.”

My head snapped up. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried. You vanished.”

“I had a right to know,” I choked out.

The little girl, Heidi, watched me.

My daughter. The word echoed in my mind.

“When did you move here?” I asked.

“A few months ago. I thought maybe it was fate.”

“But then you saw me with someone?”

“Yes. I thought it would be too complicated.”

I stood abruptly. “I need to go. I need to think.”

Heidi’s face crumpled. “Daddy? Are you leaving?”

I knelt down. “I’ll be back, sweetheart. I promise.”

As I left, Juliette called after me. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

The walk home was a blur. Sandy was waiting anxiously. “What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I collapsed into her arms, tears breaking free. I told her everything.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I have a daughter, Sandy. How do I walk away from that?”

“We should get a DNA test first,” she suggested.

The next day, I stood at Juliette’s door again. “I think we need a DNA test.”

Her face hardened. “You think I’m lying?”

“I want to be certain,” I said.

Dejected, I returned home. My mother asked for Juliette’s address.

The next day, Juliette called. “We can do the DNA test.”

When I told Sandy, she wasn’t thrilled. “I love you, Arnie. But I’m scared.”

The next weeks were a rollercoaster of anxiety. When the results arrived, my heart raced: “99.99% probability of paternity.”

My daughter.

I took another test, and it came back positive. “It’s true,” I sobbed to Sandy. “She’s really mine.”

Sandy and I visited Juliette’s apartment. Heidi greeted me with a cry of “Daddy!” and threw herself into my arms.

As we left, Heidi clung to my leg. “You’ll come back, right Daddy?”

I knelt down. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

On the walk home, Sandy laced her fingers through mine. “So, we’re parents now, huh?”

I squeezed her hand. “Looks like it.”

That night, I saw Heidi waving from across the street. This time, I felt only love. I waved back, my heart full.

Maybe this wasn’t how I planned to become a father, but it was the path I was meant to be on.