Page 161 of I See You

“Okay, Ms. Helen—” Sevyn began.

“You can call me Madea,” Helen cut in with a warm smile, making Sevyn laugh.

“Madea,” Sevyn corrected with a nod, “Tell me about the first time you found Hassan.”

Helen looked over at her grandson, her eyes soft with memory. “Hassan actually found me, before I found him.”

Her voice was tender, nostalgic. “I was shopping one day, regular afternoon. I’d been in the store for damn near an hour, filled my basket, stood in that long line, and when I finally got to the front—I realized I left my wallet at home.” She chuckled, followed by a cough, and quickly waved it off. “Excuse me. Anyway, I asked the cashier if I could leave my basket and run home real quick—I lived just down the street—but this old bitter woman had the nerve to act like I asked her for her last breath.”

Sevyn leaned forward, already smiling.

“She started fussin’—talkin’ bout I was too old to be so forgetful, holdin’ up the line, all that mess. And just as I was about to get my clapback together, I heard this deep voice behind me.”

Helen grinned, eyes flicking to Hassan who stared straight ahead, stoic as ever.

“This boy—maybe sixteen at most—cold, calm, and cut through the noise like a razor. Threatened that lady without raisin’ his voice once. Then pulled out a stack of hundreds like it was nothing. Paid for all my groceries and helped me pack them in my car like he’d known me forever.”

Sevyn’s chest warmed at the image. That sounded exactly like Hassan.

Helen’s smile softened. “It wasn’t until he opened my car door that I really looked at him—those ice-blue eyes, same as my son’s. I recognized him instantly. My grandson.”

The room went still.

“I always knew he existed,” she continued, voice quiet now. “But I’d never met him. Never knew where he was or what happened to him. I didn’t tell him I knew that day—I just stayed in touch. Kept seeing him. Eventually, he moved in with me, and I raised him best I could until he moved out at eighteen.”

The silence that followed was heavy—but not with tension. It was full of love, layered with grief and healing, unspoken gratitude, and pride.

Sevyn smiled, her heart full. “That’s… beautiful.”

And for the first time in the session, she looked over and saw something unexpected in Hassan’s eyes.

“If you always knew about Hassan,” Sevyn asked gently, “why did you wait until he was sixteen to take him in?”

She watched Hassan shift in his seat at the question, his expression unreadable, but the movement was telling. His whole life, he’d quietly carried that question like a scar. Why hadn’t she come sooner? Why did she wait until he already had one foot in the streets, already hardened by the system and life? A part of him always thought she didn’t want him—until he had money.

Harper looked at her grandmother too, curiosity mixing with surprise.

“When his parents were killed,” Helen began, her voice low and shaky, “they just took him. No one ever called me. No one told me anything. I thought maybe he was with someone from his mother’s side. I told myself he was safe, maybe even doing well. But truth is... I had no idea where my grandson was.”

She paused, tears now brimming in her eyes. “It wasn’t until that day in the store, when I finally saw him… that I knew something wasn’t right. After that, I started digging. Found out he’d been in and out of homes. Living wild. In the streets. I moved heaven and earth to get custody after that.”

Sevyn’s heart ached as she glanced at Hassan. He hadn’t moved. Still stoic, still silent—but in his eyes, she saw something that wasn’t there before.

Relief.

Sheturnedtowardhim.“Hassan...didyoueverthinkyourgrandmother didn’t care? That maybe she didn’t want you?”

He looked back at her, finally, and nodded once.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “That’s why I didn’t trust her. Why I never believed she really loved me. Not at first.”

Helen’s frail hand reached for his, and he didn’t pull away. “I always loved you,” she said through tears. “From the moment your mama told me she was pregnant. I knew you were gonna be the blessing our family needed.”

She sniffled, clutching his hand tighter. “I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel unwanted. I never stopped thinking about you, San. I called your mama constantly just to ask how you were. When your parents passed, I tried everything to find you—but I didn’t have anything to go on. Not a number, not an address. But the day I saw you in that store? I knew God was giving me one last chance, and I wasn’t gonna lose you again.”

Hassankissedthebackofhertremblinghand.Hedidn’tsay anything, but he didn’t need to.

Both Sevyn and Harper smiled at the quiet moment between them. It was powerful, healing. A wound Hassan had buried for years now slowly closing.

---