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AMELIA

Then

Amelia’s senses returned. First, the feeling of grainy cement beneath her fingers.

A warm breeze blew over her, carrying with it the scent of chlorine and iron and decay.

Her vision came into focus, unlocking a hauntingly vivid image.

The fruit from the charcuterie board had wilted in the heat, buzzy flies drinking up the juices.

The sun was almost gone now. She stood, shakily, trying to find balance.

That’s when she saw the blood. Slippery stripes stained the concrete surrounding their backyard pool.

Her hands were sticky with it. At her feet, lay her husband.

His face was still. His eyes were closed.

A stream of blood oozed from his left ear.

Even that terrifying image wasn’t the scariest part.

What truly terrified her was the silence.

No footsteps, no whispers. Worst of all, no crying.

She ran inside the house, up the stairs.

Horrified, she tore through the nursery, each detail searing itself into her brain.

The open window. The empty crib. She ran outside a second time and was greeted again by that stony silence.

She knew it then, could feel it in her bones. Her baby was missing.

Baby Caroline was gone.