That night, I lay awake staring at the ceiling, the darkness pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t escape. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that little girl again—her face, her eyes, the curve of her smile.

It wasn’t just similar.

It was identical.

That’s not possible, I told myself over and over. But no matter how many times I tried to reason it away, the uneasiness in my chest only grew stronger.