Today was my 97th birthday. No candles, no cards, no calls. Just me in my small apartment above an old hardware store. The window by my chair is my companion, offering a daily view of buses and strangers passing by. This morning, I walked to the bakery, told the girl behind the counter it was my birthday. She smiled politely. I still bought a small cake, had them write, Happy 97th, Mr. L. I lit a candle and waited—though I wasn’t sure for what.

My son Eliot hasn’t spoken to me in five years. A careless comment I made about his wife ended everything. Still, I took a photo of the cake and sent it to the number I still had saved. Just: Happy birthday to me. I stared at the screen, hoping. Nothing came. So I sat, ate another slice, and watched the world carry on without noticing me. Until, suddenly, there was a knock.

At the door stood a teenage girl—curly hair, nervous eyes, red backpack. “Are you Mr. L?” she asked. “I think… I’m your granddaughter.” Her name was Soraya. Turns out Eliot gave her his old phone. She found my message. He told her not to reply. But she came anyway. She handed me a card—Happy Birthday, Grandpa. I hope it’s not too late to meet you. We sat, shared cake, talked about her life, her love of painting. I told her about her father as a boy. She laughed—his laugh. Before leaving, she asked, “Can I come back next weekend?”

That night, my phone buzzed. A message from a new number: Thank you for being kind to her. —E. I read it over and over. Life doesn’t always tie things up in neat bows. But sometimes, it gives you just enough—a glimmer of warmth, a crack of light. And for the first time in a long time, that little opening felt like hope.