I asked the nurse what each sound meant because every change seemed like an announcement that I was about to lose my daughter.

She explained one monitor, then another.

“You can talk to her,” she said.

I told Hannah I was there.

I told her the porch light was on at home.

I told her she did not need to answer me.

Across town stood a house with dry towels, heated floors, a cupboard full of china, and enough bedrooms for people who visited only twice a year.

My daughter had been found outside in a nightgown.