I Found My Neighbor’s Twin Toddlers Hiding in My Empty Trash Can—Then Their Mother Told Me Why They Had Been Sent to Find Me

Maya leaned into her sister and stared at the kitchen doorway.

I closed the window and drew the curtain.

“You can stay there,” I said.

“I’m right here.”

In the front room, I looked through a narrow gap in the blinds.

The man from the driveway was standing on his porch.

He called their names again, then came down the steps, scanning the street.

He walked toward the curb and looked at my bin.