She liked to hand them over when I was out of the room.

Last month it was giant hard jawbreakers that could easily crack a five-year-old’s tooth.

I assumed these pearls were just the small silver candy balls from the bakery down the street.

“Did you eat a lot of them?” I asked.

“It was a game.” Lily looked down at the blue carpet fibers.

“A secret.”

“What kind of game?” I asked.

“A surprise.” She repeated the word quietly, almost to herself.