By the sixth month, Daniel could no longer endure the waiting.
The children were wilting like flowers without sunlight. Joshua's eyes had lost their brightness, Grace was turning sullen, and Caleb's constant questions cut Daniel open daily. He could not let them go on like this.
So one Saturday morning, he gathered them and said, "We're going to see your mother."
Joshua's head snapped up, hope flickering in his eyes. Grace smiled for the first time in weeks. Caleb clapped his hands and shouted, "Mummy! Mummy!"
They set out together, Daniel's heart pounding. He rehearsed his words silently as they walked - Let me see her. Let me explain. For the children's sake, if nothing else.
When they reached Ruth's house, Daniel knocked firmly. The door opened, and there stood Mary's brothers, Thomas and Emmanuel, their arms crossed, their eyes hard.
"We've come to see Mary," Daniel said, keeping his voice steady.
"She doesn't want to see you," Thomas replied flatly.
Grace stepped forward, her small voice trembling. "But we're her children. She'll want to see us."
Emmanuel's jaw tightened. "You can leave a message. We'll tell her."
Joshua bristled. "That's not fair! She's our mum!"
Daniel raised a hand to calm him. "Please," he said, his voice breaking despite himself. "She is my wife. The children need her. Just let us speak to her - for a moment. If she tells us herself that she doesn't want us, then we'll go."
Behind the brothers, Mary appeared briefly in the hallway. For a fleeting second, Daniel saw her - thinner, paler, her shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Their eyes met across the distance, and his chest ached at the longing in her face.
"Mary!" Daniel cried, trying to push past the men.
But Thomas moved quickly, blocking the way. "She's not going anywhere with you."
"Let her speak for herself!" Daniel pleaded, his hands trembling now. "If she tells me to leave, I will. But let her say it."
Mary opened her mouth, but Ruth's voice rang out sharply from behind her. "Go back inside, Mary. Don't let him confuse you."
Mary hesitated, her eyes darting between Daniel and her sister. Her lips parted again - but then Emmanuel stepped forward, his voice cold.
"You heard us. Leave. And if you come back here again, we'll make sure the police know exactly what you've done to her."
Daniel's breath caught. "You're threatening me with lies? In front of my children?"
But the door slammed before he could finish.
The silence that followed was unbearable. Grace burst into tears, pounding her fists against Daniel's chest. "They wouldn't even let her talk to us!" Joshua stood rigid, fists clenched, his jaw set in a way that made him look older than his years. Caleb began to cry simply because the others were crying, his small hands reaching desperately toward the closed door.
Daniel gathered them close, his own tears burning in his eyes though he fought to hold them back. He had come hoping for a crack in the wall between them - but instead, he had found it higher, stronger, and colder than ever before.
As he led his children away, he realized the truth he had been avoiding: Mary was no longer within his reach. She had been swallowed whole by the voices around her.
And there was nothing he could do to pull her back.