I SEWED MY PROM DRESS FROM MY DAD’S ARMY UNIFORM TO HONOR HIM — MY STEPMOTHER LAUGHED AT ME UNTIL A MILITARY OFFICER ARRIVED AT THE DOOR AND HANDED HER A LETTER THAT MADE HER FACE LOSE COLOR.

He had taught me how to sew when I was younger.s Back when life still felt… whole.

After he died, the house changed.

It stopped feeling like mine.

I became someone who just lived there.

Did chores. Stayed out of the way. Kept quiet.

So I worked on the dress at night. Slowly. Carefully. Like I was holding on to something that mattered.

And when it was finally done… I knew.

It wasn’t just a dress.

It was the last piece of him I still had.

When I stepped into the living room, they noticed immediately.

My stepmother looked me up and down like I had done something embarrassing.