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

“But you opened it.”

“Yes.”

She held my hand so tightly that I could feel the tremor in her fingers.

“You opened it.”

I had no answer larger than that.

Across the table, Chloe drew a line with a green crayon, frowned at it, and turned the paper around.

The room stayed quiet except for the crayons moving and Megan asking whether anyone wanted more water.

Outside, my empty bin stood beside the fence, exactly where I had put it after the officers finished asking to see it.