After returning to my country, everyone looked at me differently, even my daughter, who was born after ten months of pregnancy, no longer recognized me. Looking at my husband, who was sweating profusely, I thought I knew where the problem lay...
After wrapping up a business trip, I headed to my daughter's preschool to pick her up, full of excitement.
But what I didn't expect was to become the center of whispers and stares.
Sensing something was off, I probed discreetly and eventually learned a truth I couldn't accept from one of my daughter's classmates.
The daughter I cherished like a treasure... was telling everyone at school I was a homewrecker.
01
After a month-long business trip abroad, I didn't even bother freshening up before jumping in the car and racing to my daughter's school to pick her up.
Because of the time difference, I had only managed to call her twice that whole month.
Both calls were short-cut off in minutes because it was her bedtime.
God knew how much I had missed my baby girl while I was away.
Now that I was finally back, I didn't care how early it was. I rushed straight to her preschool and waited outside.
The security guard there had always been a kind old man. Anytime parents arrived early, he would let them sit in the guardhouse to rest.
So, as usual, the moment I got to the school gate, I instinctively turned toward the little guardroom.
But it caught me off guard that the security guard who used to be so kind and friendly looked at me differently this time, like I was something filthy.
Not only did he refuse to let me in, but he also grabbed a broom and started waving it in my direction, driving me back step by step.
His face was full of disgust, and for a second I stood there stunned, totally confused about what I had done to offend him.
I opened my mouth to ask, but before I could say anything, he cut me off.
"Ugh! Stay away from my guardhouse! Don't bring your dirty feet in here and mess up my clean floors!"
With that, he ignored the look on my face and slammed the door shut behind him.
His behavior left me in complete shock.
Even after the door shut, I stood there in a daze, unable to make sense of what had just happened.
But since he clearly didn't want me there, I wasn't about to humiliate myself by pushing it.
So I stepped back and found some shade under a nearby tree to cool off.
At the same time, I couldn't help wondering what could've happened in just a month to make someone so warm turn so hostile?
But I didn't dwell on it too long.
The sound of music started playing from the school's speakers, suggesting that it was dismissal time and my little girl was coming out.
Soon enough, two teachers led the kids out in a neat line, helping them find their parents.
My heart swelled the moment I saw that scene.
I squeezed my way to the front, pushing past the other parents to get the best spot, scanning the crowd for a familiar little face.
Once I reached the front, just one quick glance was enough for me to spot her among the crowd of kids.
The second I saw her, all the longing I had been suppressing came pouring out. I shouted with everything I had, "Elvira! Sweetheart! Mommy's right here! Come to me!"
I kept calling her name, voice loud and urgent, but I wasn't blind.
I quickly noticed that the parents who had been packed in beside me just moments ago were now backing away like I had some kind of plague.
In that tight crowd, they somehow managed to create a wide, empty circle around me.
At the same time, their faces all twisted in disgust. They whispered to each other, casting sidelong glances my way.
The look on their faces was just like the security guard's. And suddenly, my gut told me something wasn't right.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something major must've happened while I was gone.
And this weird behavior from the other parents was just the beginning. Something worse was coming.