Our family group chat is called Fam ❤️. Five people. Me, Mom, Dad, my sister Zoe, my little brother Sam. Tonight my phone buzzed and the header said 6 members. The new one had no name. No profile photo. Just a gray circle. Mom: "who is this??" Three dots. Typing. Then it sent one photo. Our living room. The couch. Dad's mug on the coffee table, still steaming. Taken from inside the house.

Everyone was typing and deleting, typing and deleting. So I just asked. Me: "who are you" The reply came fast. Like it had been waiting for me specifically. "You know me." Me: "no i don't" It sent a second photo. My seventh birthday party, in our old kitchen. I remember that cake. There's a man standing behind seven-year-old me. I have never seen him before in my life.