Chapter 151

• The moment I realized how much effort Little Treasure had poured into my birthday every tiny detail he’d planned, the present he had chosen, the surprise he must have envisioned with that quiet, secretive excitement my heart cracked open. He must have been so full of joy, so certain I’d show up and make the day everything he’d dreamed of.
• But instead, the day came, and I wasn’t there.
• All I could see in my mind was the way that joy must have withered into cold, aching loneliness… and then into panic when he couldn’t find me, couldn’t reach me.