“I walked.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes. The wheelbarrow was really heavy. I had to stop a few times. But then my little brother stopped crying, and I got scared.”
“Where is your daddy?”
The little girl’s expression changed.
“Daddy doesn’t live with us.”
Linda immediately called the emergency responders.
The girl didn’t know her home address, but she described the road, an old bridge, and a red mailbox.
Then she suddenly reached beneath her sweatshirt and pulled out a tiny key hanging from a string around her neck.
“Mommy told me never to lose this.”
A paramedic took the key.
“We’re going to help your mommy.”
But the little girl suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Wait… There’s something I haven’t told you.”
Linda froze.
“What happened, sweetheart?”
The little girl’s eyes filled with tears.
“Last night, I heard a noise coming from Mommy’s bedroom. I thought she’d finally woken up. But when I opened the door…”
