The Real Explanation
I had expected answers.
Instead, I found something better.
Hope.
Mrs. Carter explained gently. “When Tom was alive, every child in this neighborhood adored him. He fixed broken bicycles. He repaired toys. He told bedtime stories. He checked on neighbors who lived alone. He made everyone feel safe.”
Before I left, she handed me a small wooden box.
“I almost forgot.”
“What is it?”
“I found this hidden in the attic after moving.”
Inside lay tiny carved wooden animals — a rabbit, a fox, a bear. Tom had made them for the neighborhood children but never finished delivering them before he got sick.
“I think he’d want Ellie to have them.”
I couldn’t stop crying.
