I sat down at the kitchen table and took out my laptop. I logged in as the storm outside raged against the house. I glanced up at the stairs where the little girl's room (I was babysitting) was, but saw no tiny figure, crawling down the stairs, asking for a glass of water. I turned back to the computer and logged into my writing format.

As I was scrolling over the second page, I heard a small, quiet knock at the front door. I stood up, confused.

Why aren't the parents coming in already?

I walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.

. . .

No one.

I sat back down, on edge.

Then. . .I heard it.

"Helloooooo there," a whisper came floating to my room.

I blanched. "Nope, nope, no, I'm good," I said, grabbing my phone to message the parents. "I'm okay, I'm going,"

The girl came downstairs.

I spun around.