The teacher explained that Emma had been drawing pictures of two girls.
She kept insisting they were sisters.
At first, the teacher assumed it was an imaginary friend.
Then she noticed something unusual.
Emma’s drawings consistently showed the two girls wearing matching dresses.
“Did she say where the other girl lives?” I asked.
“No.”
“Did she say what classroom she’s in?”
“No.”
The teacher paused.
“She said something else.”
“What?”
“She said Lily told her you would remember.”
My entire body went cold.
## The Drawing
When Emma came home, she handed me a drawing.
Two little girls were standing together.
They had identical brown hair.
Identical dresses.
Identical smiles.
Above them was a sun.
Underneath, Emma had written two names.
Emma.
Lily.
I stared at the picture.
Then I noticed something.
The girl labeled Lily had a tiny mark near her left eye.
A small crescent-shaped mark.
My breath caught.
Because I remembered the doctor mentioning something similar when the twins were born.
I had never told Emma.
She was only six.
She couldn’t possibly have known.
I asked her:
“How do you know Lily has this?”
Emma looked confused.
“She showed me.”
## Searching for an Explanation
I spent days trying to find a rational explanation.
Could Emma have overheard something?
Could she have found the hospital records?
Could someone have told her?
Could she have seen an old photograph?
Daniel and I questioned everyone in the family.
Nobody had told her anything.
My mother hadn’t.
My sister hadn’t.
Daniel hadn’t.
I certainly hadn’t.
The school didn’t know.
