Cristina Henríquez reads her story from the July 24, 2017, issue of the magazine. Henríquez has published the story collection “Come Together, Fall Apart,” and two novels, including, most recently, “The Book of Unknown Americans.”

What if she’s forgotten what he looks like? What if she’s gone crazy? What if he’s here, lying in one of those cribs, and she sees him every single day without realizing he’s her son? What if it’s been too long? What if memory fails? What if everything fails, and getting through life is simply learning to cope with the failure? No, she scolds herself. Don’t think like that. Don’t let yourself give way.