My mind struggled to process it.

“Smaller… like a child’s?”

He nodded.

When Daniel and Megan arrived, I showed them everything.

Megan hesitated.

“…Laura brought her daughter once.”

My heart dropped.

“Was the child near Noah?”

“She loved babies… she kept asking to hold him.”

“Did she ever?”

“No… we said no.”

A terrible thought formed.

“Unless… no one was watching.”

Then a nurse entered.

“Someone is asking about the baby.”

“Who?”

“The babysitter… Laura. She’s here. With a child.”

Laura walked in—pale, shaken.

Beside her stood a little girl.

The moment the girl saw Noah through the glass—

She burst into tears.

“I’m sorry!” she cried.

The room froze.

“I just wanted to hug the baby…”

My heart shattered.

“I hugged him really tight… because he wouldn’t stop crying.”

Laura went pale.

“What did you do?” she whispered.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him…”

Silence filled the room.

No one had attacked the baby.

He had simply been held too tightly—

by a child who didn’t understand how fragile life is.

That night felt endless.

But by morning—

Noah was stable.

He would recover.

A week later, Laura returned with her daughter.

The little girl held a drawing.

A baby… smiling under a bright sun.

And underneath, written in uneven letters: