door and looked briefly over the pictures painted on it: there was one of the three of them, another of a forest, and a third with a puppy on it. lily’s room lay plastered along the top. he knocked softly.
“please? pretty please with a cherry on top?” he pressed his ear to the wood. it was hollow on the other side but for a repeated sniffling. was she crying?
away by the window facing out into the street sat a little girl wearing a puffy, pink dress. her arms were folded over her chest and a string of tissues led out to meet him. her sparkly shoes lay random against the 