Mark stared at his daughter with a look of total shock and confusion.
Mark: What girl are you talking about, sweetie?
Sarah stepped between Mark and the low storage door very quickly.
Sarah: She is just using her vivid imagination again, Mark.
Sarah: You know how kids make up imaginary friends all the time.
Mark looked closely at his wife's tight and nervous facial expression.
Her hands were clutched tightly around the edges of her cream blouse.
He knew his wife very well after five years of happy marriage.
She was hiding something serious from him right in this very moment.
He looked back down at the low white cabinet built under the stairs.
It was a space normally used for extra winter blankets and old coats.
He noticed a small silver latch on the outside was pulled open slightly.
Mark moved past Sarah despite her sudden attempt to block his path.
Sarah: Mark, please leave it alone and help me clean up!
Mark: Something is not right here, Sarah.
Mark dropped to his knees on the hard floor near the cabinet baseboard.
He reached his hand out toward the small silver handle of the door.
The sound of heavy silence filled the hallway between the two adults.
He slowly slid the white wooden door open along its metal track.
A dark and small space was revealed inside the deep wall cavity.
Mark gasped loudly as his eyes adjusted to the dim indoor lighting.
A young girl sat on a soft blue blanket inside the small dark space.
She had messy dark hair and wore a faded pink cotton shirt.
Juice boxes and empty snack wrappers lay scattered around her bare feet.
She pressed her small back tightly against the rear wall of the space.
Her eyes were wide with terror as she looked at Mark's face.
Mark felt his heart drop into his stomach with overwhelming shock.
He could not believe a living child was hidden in his house.
Mark: Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you at all.
The young girl reached out her small hand toward his grey coat.
Girl: Daddy...