Mum noticed before Vera did.

"Where is your sister?" Mum asked. Her curly blonde hair was mussed, though she likely hadn't gotten much sleep yet, having only gone off shift at 6 a.m.

"She was babbling, so I put her outside so she wouldn't wake you," Vera muttered absently, not appreciating the intrusion on her reading.

Mum looked out the window. "I don't see her."

"Maybe the postman took her," Vera said, turning another page.

"Now why would the postman take her? Look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Mum stood with her hands on her hips and a growing frown.

"I was playing with Lydia," Vera said, shoving her pale colored hair away from her face. "I told her if she didn't behave, I'd send h...

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