On my 47th birthday, I set the table for three, leaving one seat for my daughter, Karen, who hadn’t spoken to me in two years. After another unanswered call and a quiet cry, I admitted I couldn’t keep living with the silence. The empty chair felt heavier than ever.

The next morning, I went to my ex-husband Nigel’s house to ask about Karen. He revealed she’d moved to Canada a year earlier and—after fumbling—handed me a birthday card she’d left for me the year before. He’d “forgotten” to give it to me.

In the card, Karen apologized for pulling away, admitted Nigel had pressured her not to contact me, and shared her address, saying she missed and loved me. For the first time in years, grief loosened its grip and hope returned.

I booked a flight immediately. Standing at her Ontario doorstep, I barely lifted my hand to knock before the door opened. Karen looked older but familiar, and without a word, she pulled me into a long, trembling hug. After two empty birthdays, we were whole again.