For a moment I accepted his explanation because it seemed reasonable, yet over the following days Hazel kept mentioning the girl who supposedly looked just like her. Each time she talked about that mysterious child, a quiet heaviness settled deeper in my mind.
One evening Hazel added something that instantly chilled my bl00d.
“Lately I’m not allowed to play with her anymore,” she said quietly.
“Why not?” I asked.
Hazel shrugged and replied, “I don’t know because the teacher just told me not to go near her.”
That night I could not sleep because the thought kept circling in my mind, and a few days later I deliberately left work early so I could pick Hazel up ahead of schedule.
When I arrived at Angela’s house, I noticed a little girl playing in the yard. My heart seemed to stop beating when I saw her clearly. The child looked exactly like Hazel. Her eyes, her nose, and even the way she smiled were so similar that it felt as though I were looking at my own daughter standing in a different outfit.
