At that moment I assumed it was simply the imaginative thinking of a four year old child and I brushed the comment aside, but Hazel continued speaking with an unusual seriousness that made me listen more carefully.
“She’s the teacher’s daughter,” Hazel said, “and she’s really clingy because she always wants to be held.”
My hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel as I asked, “Are you sure that is what the teacher said?”
“Yes,” Hazel answered with certainty, “she said we look exactly alike.”
Although I tried to dismiss the conversation as childish imagination, a strange uneasiness crept into my chest that evening when I told Garrett about it.
He laughed lightly and said, “Kids say strange things all the time, so you should not think too much about it.”
For a moment I accepted his explanation because it seemed reasonable, yet over the following days Hazel kept mentioning the girl who supposedly looked just like her. Each time she talked about that mysterious child, a quiet heaviness settled deeper in my mind.
One evening Hazel added something that instantly chilled my bl00d.
“Lately I’m not allowed to play with her anymore,” she said quietly.
“Why not?” I asked.
Hazel shrugged and replied, “I don’t know because the teacher just told me not to go near her.”
That night I could not sleep because the thought kept circling in my mind, and a few days later I deliberately left work early so I could pick Hazel up ahead of schedule.
When I arrived at Angela’s house, I noticed a little girl playing in the yard. My heart seemed to stop beating when I saw her clearly. The child looked exactly like Hazel. Her eyes, her nose, and even the way she smiled were so similar that it felt as though I were looking at my own daughter standing in a different outfit.
I stood frozen until Angela stepped outside and noticed me. For a brief moment she appeared startled before forcing a polite smile.
“You’re early today,” she said.
I tried to keep my voice calm and answered, “I finished work sooner than expected. Is that your daughter?”
Angela hesitated slightly before nodding and replying, “Yes, she is.”