The quiet hallway of the bright suburban house was usually very peaceful on warm sunny mornings.
Sunlight poured through the high windows and bounced off the clean white marble tiles along the floor.
A large American flag hung proudly on the wall near the front entrance of the cozy home.
Little Lilly crawled quietly along the polished floor in her light pink pajamas during the early morning.
She moved very carefully so she would not wake up her parents down the long main corridor.
In her small right hand, she held two warm slices of soft white bread wrapped tightly together.
She stopped right in front of a low metal air vent built into the lower hallway wall.
Lilly knelt down on her knees and pressed her face close to the metal vent cover grill.
She whispered a tiny greeting toward the dark shadow waiting inside the quiet hollow space behind wall.
Lilly: I brought you breakfast again today.
She tore small pieces from the bread and slid them slowly through the narrow metal openings one by one.
A tiny hand reached out from the darkness inside the wall cavity to collect every single soft crumb.
Lilly smiled softly as she listened to the tiny chewing sounds coming from behind the metal grill.
Lilly: Eat fast before Mommy wakes up.
Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the top of the dark wooden staircase nearby in the hallway center.
Mark walked down the hallway wearing a simple grey shirt and casual blue denim pants for work.
He stopped completely frozen in his tracks when he saw his little daughter kneeling near the floor vent.
Mark: Lilly! Who are you feeding in there?
Lilly jumped slightly in surprise and dropped the small piece of bread remaining in her tiny fingers.
She turned her head around slowly and looked up at her father with wide nervous brown eyes.
Lilly: He gets really hungry at night, Daddy.
Mark felt a strange cold chill run straight down his spine at her strange gentle innocent words.
He walked over quickly and knelt beside his little girl on the bright shining marble floor tiles.
Mark: Who gets hungry, sweetie? Tell Daddy right now.
Lilly: My twin brother Toby lives in the dark wall.
Mark stared at her face in complete confusion because he thought his son had passed away long ago.
Two years earlier, his wife Sarah had told him that little Toby had died in a hospital.
Mark had wept for months, believing his sweet baby boy was gone forever from his heart and life.
He placed his large shaking hands gently onto Lilly's small pink shoulders and looked into her eyes.
Mark: Toby is in heaven, Lilly. You know that.
Lilly: No, Daddy! Mommy keeps him in the wall!
Mark felt his heart pounding wildly inside his chest like a fast heavy drum in the room.
He put his ear right against the cold metal surface of the wall vent and listened very carefully.
A tiny soft cough sound echoed faintly from deep within the narrow hollow space inside the wall structure.
Mark pulled back instantly, his eyes filling with sudden shock and rising terror at the realization.
Mark: Toby? Is somebody in there?
A tiny voice spoke softly from the darkness behind the heavy metal vent cover in a tiny tone.
Toby: Daddy... it is cold in here.
Mark gasped as tears sprang instantly to his eyes while his hands began to shake uncontrollably hard.
He looked at the sturdy metal grill and tried to pull it off using his bare human fingers.
The metal screws held the cover tight against the thick drywall frame without moving an inch at all.
Mark stood up fast and ran quickly toward the utility tool closet at the end of hallway.
He grabbed a heavy steel hammer from the top shelf and rushed right back to the vent opening.
Mark: Stand back, Lilly! Step away right now!
Lilly shuffled back quickly across the bright marble floor while holding her hands over her small mouth.