Slow.

Unsteady.

The footsteps of someone small, and weak, coming to see who had entered the silent house.

Chapter 5 — Are You Real

Chloe appeared at the top of the staircase in an oversized T-shirt, her hair tangled, her lips pale and dry, and she looked at me the way you might look at something you did not believe could really be there.

“Mommy?” she whispered.