The doors stay open.

The nightlights stay on.

Every gift goes straight into their hands, unwrapped by them, no closet, no waiting.

And when Ollie or Josie calls out — for a lost crayon, for a bad dream, for a ride, for help with fractions, for anything, at any hour, for the rest of my life — I answer.

I answer every time.

People want the story to have a lesson, and if it has one, I think it is this, and it is not about villains.

It is about how easy it is for a good person to be talked into doing nothing.