Clara and Lily were lying on the kitchen floor, barely conscious, while my mother calmly pushed dirty water around them.
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Chapter 19 / 27
Chapter 19 - MISS BUTTON COMES HOME
Police returned Miss Button after appeals preserved the digital evidence.
Lily was six.
Two years.
The doll came in a clear evidence bag.
Still stained.
Still missing stuffing at one seam.
Camera removed.
Lily stared.
“Miss Button.”
I expected joy.
She did not touch her.
Clara asked:
“Want me to open the bag?”
“No.”
We left it on a shelf.
A week.
Then two.
Lily chose another doll for sleep.
Good.
One day she asked:
“Camera gone?”
“Yes.”
“Forever?”
“Yes.”
“Can put stuffing?”
“If you want.”
She shook her head.
Not yet.
At eight, she finally asked.
Clara repaired the seam.
Lily chose new stuffing herself.
No camera.
No hidden evidence.
Then she said:
“Miss Button can be dumb now.”
I laughed.
“What?”
May you like
“She doesn’t have to see.”
That was healing in child language.
