My son has the most beautiful golden curls you've ever seen. My mother-in-law had been complaining about them for months - minhtrang

Mark carried Lily to bed, tucking her in gently, brushing a strand of hair from her face with a softness that hadn’t changed despite everything.

I helped Leo into his pajamas, my fingers hesitating briefly as I smoothed the fabric over his shoulders, noticing again the absence of his curls.

He didn’t cry this time, but he didn’t smile either, and somehow that quiet acceptance felt more difficult to witness than his earlier tears.

“Mom,” he said softly as I turned off the light, “will my hair grow back the same?”

I paused at the doorway, the question settling into me slowly, not because I didn’t know the answer, but because I wasn’t sure what it meant anymore.

“Yes,” I said gently, sitting beside him again, “it will grow back.”

He nodded, but his eyes drifted toward his hands, where nothing rested now, no small curl to hold onto, no visible piece of what had been.

“Okay,” he whispered, and there was something in his voice that sounded like acceptance, but also like something quietly lost.