Mark pulled his dark navy suit jacket tight against the brisk afternoon breeze as he walked through the front door.
The sun streamed through the large front windows of the grand mansion, filling the white hallway with bright natural light.
Mark loved his home, but today he felt a strange sense of unease settled deep inside his chest.
He set his heavy leather briefcase down on the polished light-wood floor right beside the entryway console table.
Heavy footsteps echoed softly down the empty corridor as he made his way toward the back living room area.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks when he saw his two-year-old daughter, Lily, walking carefully down the wide hallway.
The little girl held a white porcelain plate balanced carefully between her tiny, trembling hands.
Stacked high on the white plate were several small turkey sandwiches cut neatly into little square triangles.
Mark smiled slightly, thinking his little girl was playing a simple game of pretend teatime in her bedroom.
Mark: Lily, what are you doing with all those sandwiches, sweetheart?
Lily did not turn around to face her father when he called out her name in the quiet house.
She kept her little eyes focused entirely on the floor as she walked toward the solid baseboard along the far wall.
Mark stepped closer, his brow furrowing together as he watched her unusual and precise movements.
The little toddler kneeled down slowly on the cold wood floor right against the bright white wall.
She set the heavy white plate down gently against the wooden trim with a soft click.
Mark watched with growing confusion as his tiny daughter whispered softly toward the blank wall surface.
Mark: Sweetheart, who are you leaving that food for down there on the floor?
Lily turned her head slightly and looked back at Mark with wide, innocent blue eyes.
Lily: She is hungry, Daddy.
Mark: Who is hungry?
Lily: The girl inside.
Mark froze as a cold chill ran up his spine despite the warm sunlight pouring into the hall.
He walked quickly over to his daughter's side and dropped down onto one knee beside her small frame.