Chapter 6: The Girl From Next Door

Daniel called the police while I wrapped the child in a blanket and brought both girls into the living room.

Her name was Sophie.

She lived two houses down with an older relative who was supposed to be caring for her. She had found a loose basement window near our laundry room weeks earlier, and on nights when the shouting next door became too much, she slipped through it and hid.

At first, she slept under Emily’s bed.

Then one night, Emily woke and found her crying.

“She was cold,” Emily whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. “So I told her she could share.”

My heart broke in a way I did not know a heart could break.

Emily had not been imagining things.

She had been protecting someone.

And because she did not have the words to explain fear, secrecy, and compassion, she had simply told me the only truth she could carry:

The bed felt too tight.

Epilogue: The Night Mercy Entered Our House ⬇️