Her husband shrugged and avoided her eyes.
“I didn’t see her,” he replied. “Maybe she went somewhere.”
He walked inside calmly.
Latty’s mother felt something break inside her. She tied her wrapper tightly and began walking around the village, calling her daughter’s name loudly.
“Latty, my child, Latty!”
Her voice cracked as tears ran down her face. Villagers came out of their houses. Some followed her. Some shook their heads sadly. No one had an answer.
The bridge stood quietly in the distance. The river flowed as if nothing had happened. And the man who knew the truth sat inside his house, eating while a mother searched for her child.
Latty had been blind from the day she was born. From that same day, her father’s heart turned cold toward her. He always said she brought him bad luck. He said her blindness was a sign of disgrace.
Her mother cried many nights, holding baby Latty close, begging her husband to love their child. But he never did.
Instead, he took another wife, saying he needed normal children.
That second wife soon gave birth to a girl named Toro. Toro had bright eyes and a strong voice. Her father loved her openly. He carried her on his shoulders and showed her to everyone.
Latty felt everything even though she could not see it. She heard the laughter. She heard the love that was never for her.
